A Long Awaited Meeting
by jellolids
Summary: After a LOT of waiting, our favorite fox kit, Shippou, finds his mother Kagome again, just in time to watch her get mixed up with the Reikai. How WILL this play out? InuYasha YuYu Hakusho crossover
1. A Long Awaited Meeting

A young man wanders the streets of Tokyo, clawed hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. He keeps his head down, knowing that his long red hair is going to attract attention whether he likes it or not. Normally, he would cover it up, much like he is covering up his kitsune tails; but he wants to make sure she recognizes him. He has waited nearly five hundred years for this day to come, and he does not want anything to mess it up.

He wrinkles his nose as a car goes past, spraying its exhaust into his face. He sighs, closing his eyes, remembering a time when this bustling, polluted city was nothing more than a small farming village, protected by InuYasha's forest, and later, InuYasha himself, with a strange well that allowed a fifteen year old girl from this modern city to pass through it. His thoughts strayed to all the times he had spent with her, snuggling into her neck as InuYasha carried them across whatever lands they were traversing, or listening to her sing him to sleep at night. He smiles slightly, and picks up his pace.

Half an hour later, he stands in front of her shrine, reveling in the fact that he could once again smell her scent. He watches the door intently, waiting for the moment she will come out, using his keen hearing to listen to what was going on inside.

"Hey, Onee-chain? There's a guy outside... he's just standing there... "A boy was saying tentatively.

"Do you want me to go find out what he wants Souta?" He perks up, happy to hear her voice again, silently begging her to come out and see him.

"Yeah... Thanks, Kagome."

"Any time, Souta." He watches the door eagerly, and nearly runs to her when the it opens. He manages to restrain himself, somehow, and instead grins at her. Kagome's eyes narrow, almost as if she is trying to place him. A mischievous gleam comes into his eyes as he takes the illusion spell off his tails. Her eyes widen, and her hand goes to her mouth.

"Sh-Shippo?" She whispers. His grin widens, showing a pair of sharp fangs.

"Hey, Okaa-san. It's been awhile."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shrugs So I randomly got an idea for a fanfiction during math class. Got a problem with that?

Anyway, the idea is that the well has closed, with Kagome on the modern side, for whatever reason, and our adorable Shippo has grown up a bit, and is going to see his mother for the first time in a little under five hundred years. (In this story, he should be about Kagome's age. I have no idea how demons age, I just figured that was good.)What can I say? I thought it would be sweet.

translations for those of you who are clueless about the random Japanese words:  
Onee-chan- big sister. The Japanese equivalent of "Sissy"  
Okaa-san- Mother, or Mom  
kitsune- fox


	2. Shippo's Tale

An important thing to note:

I don't own InuYasha. Or YuYu Hakusho, which makes a debut in the form of details in the backstory in this chapter, for that matter. In fact, the only things pertaining to either that I own are a Sango plushie, and random Kirara paraphernalia. Heck, I don't even own a copy of either manga, 'cause I'm cheap like that! So there's no way in Hell I made up Kagome, Shippo, or any of the other characters that I've mentioned thus far! I wish I had, of course, but alas, that is not the case. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of the brilliant Japanese manga artist who made them, so I can't tell you who they are, but let it be known that they did, and not me!

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kagome sat on a chair in her living room, feeling happier than she had felt since the well had locked her in the present, nearly a year ago. Her son sat on the floor next to her, with his head in her lap, emitting a contented purr as she stroked his hair. Both were smiling broadly, resisting the urge to laugh at the stunned expression on Souta's face.

"L-let me get this straight," the pre-teen boy stammered. "You're the kitsune kit Kagome adopted back in the Sengoku Jidai." Shippo nodded.

"That's correct."

"And you've been waiting around for _five hundred years _for Onee-chan to come back through the well for the last time, so you could be with her again?" Shippo shrugged.

"Something like that. It's actually only been... 465 years. You weren't kidding when you said you were bad at math, Okaa-san." He teased. Kagome mock glared at her son.

"Thanks ever so. I can see your respect for your mother knows no bounds." She said dryly. Shippo's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Of _course _it doesn't, Okaa-san!" He said angelically. "_Whatever _gave you _that _idea?" Kagome threw back her head and laughed. Souta just stared at them as though they were maniacs.

"I think I'm going to let the two of you catch up..." he muttered, and escaped. Shippo could not resist calling after him.

"Talk to you later... Souta-ojii-san!" Souta choked at his nephew's words, sending his sister into fits of giggles. Shippo grinned. _Even after 465 years, I can _still _make her laugh uncontrolably..._ He thought, his eyes closing halfway as his mother began stroking his hair again.

"So, Shippo, how were the past 465 years?" Kagome asked, sounding like any mother asking her son how his day had been. Shippo grinned, fangs showing, at the thought.

"Alright, I guess. Long. I missed you. Sometimes... knowing that I could see you again if I just held on long enough was the only thing that kept me going, especially in the last two hundred years or so, when I was alone." Kagome's hand flew to her mouth. Then she bent over and embraced him, brushing his hair, and reassuring him that she was really there, and he was not alone anymore.

"Tell me." She murmured, her concern evident. Shippo basked in the warmth of her arms, and began his tale.

"When you left that last time, it didn't take us long to figure out what had happened. After all, we were half expecting it to. Anyway, the rest of us decided to stay in the village to help out Kaede. Miroku and Sango got married, and I stayed with them. Then... Kaede died. She was just so old... none of us could stand to stay in the village once she was 

gone, so we left. We went to the taijiya village, where Sango and Kohaku grew up, and started to rebuild. It wasn't long before people started asking permission to live there, mostly refugees from demon raids, and Sango started work on the small army of children she had promised Miroku. I think they wound up with... seventeen? That sounds about right." Kagome winced.

"Oh, Kami... Poor Sango..."

"It wasn't so bad; most of them were twins." Shippo reassured her.

"Still... I don't envy her, looking after that many." Shippo chuckled.

"Not many did. Some of the older ones helped her out, though. Quite a few of them got to be pretty famous, especially the eldest, a miko taijiya named Kagome."

"They... they named their first-born after me? I'm... I'm touched. I'll have to return the favor..." Shippo smiled. He had known she would say that.

"The village kept growing, with Sango and Miroku's help. InuYasha and I stayed, keeping an eye on their brood, especially Kagome. What can I say; she was the most interesting. She managed to grab our attention. Besides, we'd helped to raise her the most; Miroku needed a lot of help beating away her suitors with a stick." Kagome laughed at the image.

"So, did anyone ever win my namesake's hand?" Shippo grinned.

"You're not gonna believe it... Kagome won the heart, coated in ice though it was, of a certain inu taiyoukai. To this day, I thing the only reason we allowed him to take hers was that we were too shocked to do anything about it."

"She married _Sesshoumaru?_" Kagome asked, stunned to her core. Shippo's grin broadened.

"Yep!"

"Sesshoumaru actually married a 'weak, pathetic mortal'?" Shippo shrugged.

"I think she impressed him when she single-handedly took out a small army of youkai that went after her for purifying/exterminating various family members. And he found an old spell-ceremony-thingy to tie her lifespan to his. Don't ask me, I _still _don't understand the way it works. All I know is that it supposedly means that she'll live as long as he does. Same thing goes for Rin, although she'd seem to be about my age now, 'cause she was spelled when she was younger." Kagome blinked, then nodded.

"That makes sense... I guess..."

"Anyway, InuYasha and I stuck around after Kagome left, and acted as sort of village guardians. Stayed there for a looooong time, even after Sango and Miroku died, watching out for their descendants, as did Kirara."

"Oh, good. I was wondering what had happened to her." Shippo smiled evilly, with a look that screamed I-know-something-you-don't-know. Her eyes narrowed, and Shippo hastily went on with his story.

"So, that's pretty much how the first 260 years went, until that baka came and ruined everything." Shippo's fist clenched. "Some ningen decided that the 'youkai scourge' should be ended, and that all youkai and hanyou should be forced to a place where they couldn't hurt ningen anymore, whether they actually did so or not. Anyway, this ningen began gathering together miko and houshi. He came to recruit in the village, and got a rather nasty shock when a miko taijiya, who took after her several times great-grandmother, told him to get out before she used her hirakosu to separate him from youkai– permanently." He chuckled at the memory. Then he sighed. "Unfortunately, he found enough miko and houshi willing to help him to do it, setting up the realms of Ningenkai for ningen, Makai for youkai and hanyou, and 

making the walls around the Reikai, where the spirits live, stronger." Kagome's eyes lit up with understanding.

"So _that's_ why there aren't any youkai here. I'd wondered."

"Yeah," Shippo sighed "I just wish that baka had kept his ideas to himself. I mean, yeah, I guess it was a good idea to separate ningen from the hanyou and youkai who wanted to kill them all, but what about the ones like InuYasha, Kirara, and I, who actually watched out for them? Why did _we_ need to get flung into some alternate realm? Lucky for us, the villagers felt the same. They figured out a way to keep us from getting shoved into the Makai when the barrier went up. It required a lot of holy energy, but Miroku's powers had gotten passed to most of his descendants, so there was plenty of it to be found in our village. Pretty much, they made us seem human to the barrier with these weird talisman thingies, so we got to stay.

"Everything would have been fine, except then low class youkai who wanted to destroy humanity figured out a way around the barrier. Then Reikai started policing for any stray youkai, which was when everyone started to get worried. Any youkai or hanyou caught by the Reikai's strike force could count on a death sentence, which put InuYasha, Kirara, and I in a bad place, along with the villagers, who would fight to keep us free. So, we all got together and talked it out. It was decided that we had to get out; we were pretty sure that Reikai was getting closer to us, and we didn't want the village to get in trouble. One of the villagers, a miko taijiya named Aiko, pretty much stated that she was going with us, figuring she could help out if the Reikai found us. Naturally, we accepted her help, and she suggested the idea that's kept Kirara and I out of trouble ever since: use illusions to cover our youkai traits. I had just gotten my second tail, which meant I was now master of all things illusiony. It wasn't a problem to make illusions to make Kirara into an ordinary cat, and cover up InuYasha's and my more significant youkai trait." Shippo sighed.

"But InuYasha refused to wear it. He said he'd spent two centuries running away from being a hanyou, and trying to change it. Now that he finally accepted it, he would be damned before he covered it up. Aiko, Kirara, and I accepted his decision with misgivings... but we understood, better than he did, I think. Being a hanyou was the last thing that connected him to you, Okaa-san, and there was no way he was going to give that up. I think he'd given up on ever seeing you again, to tell the truth. And he was right." Shippo took a deep breath. "Reikai caught him as we were leaving. He jerked his head towards the woods, telling us to run for it. He went out fighting... A couple months later, the villagers sent us the Tetsuaiga. They'd found it where the Reikai strike team had left it." Shippo hated to tell this to Kagome. He knew it would make her sad. The look in her eyes proved him right. His Okaa-san looked as though someone had punched her in the stomach, and tears shimmered in her eyes, several making tracks down her cheeks.

"W-well, at least he went out fighting. H-he'd have liked that." She whispered, trying to console herself. Shippo wrapped his arms around her.

"He died without regrets, Okaa-san. I promise." Kagome nodded, wiping away her tears, and Shippo continued. "Aiko, Kirara, and I headed for the only place any of us knew anything about: Kaede's village, which had by then become the city of Tokyo. We bought a house near a shrine had been built, in honor of the Goshinboku, and a certain well that I knew well, having waited there for hours when I was little." Shippo grinned.

"Aiko was my vaguely over-protective older sister, and we were orphans who had come to try our luck in the city. It wasn't long before a the son of the shrine's priest, who was in training to take over the job when he got older, noticed the lovely young miko living next door. I 

don't know who was more startled when he started courting her, me or Aiko. It didn't take long for him to wear her down, although she told him he had to pass her brother's test." Shippo's grin turned evil. "Boy, was he surprised when he found out his task was to hold his own against a kitsune youkai. He did remarkably well, although I attribute that to the fact that I didn't want to do permanent damage to one of my Okaa-san's ancestors." Kagome burst out laughing.

"I can see that your sense of modesty has developed greatly in the past centuries." She said through her laughter. Shippo beamed.

"Yep! So, Aiko married this Higurashi bloke, and I lived with their family for a while. But after a while, we knew I couldn't stay. It would be waaay too easy for Reikai to pick me out, what with me not aging. However, Kirara and I didn't want Aiko, and the rest of your family to go _totally_ unprotected. That's when I started putting things about your cat, Buyo, together.

"You and InuYasha had always said that no matter how much InuYasha bugged him, Buyo never retaliated. No cat _I _ever met did that, which is when I realized how easy it would be for Kirara to keep her cat illusion, become a beloved family pet, play dead, then sneak off and find me when no one was looking. I'd give her a new, kitten, illusion, and she'd show up on the shrine's doorstep, begging for a place to stay. After the family took her in, she'd occasionally sneak off and find me so I could age her illusion, but other than that, stay with the family until it was time for her to die again." Kagome's jaw dropped, suddenly understanding Shippo's smug look from earlier.

"You mean Buyo is... KIRARA?" Shippo grinned.

"Yep!"

"And- wait a second- I'm related to Miroku and Sango?"

"Mmmhmmm!" Kagome's head hit the back of her chair with a thump.

"So, the people who were like my older brother and sister are actually my many times great-grandparents. Ok. That's... that's kinda creepy." Shippo nodded fervently.

"No kidding! Anyway, ever since I left Aiko and Kirara, I've been living in Tokyo, discreetly keeping an eye on your family, and dodging Reikai. It got easier about a hundred years ago, once ningen stopped really believing in youkai. Things sort of fell into a 'if you don't kill anyone, or make any really flashy displays of your youkainess, we'll leave you alone' stance around then, probably because that was about the time leadership of the Reikai fell into the hands of Koenma, the original ruler's son. It's been really lonely. I must admit, I seriously looked forward to the times when Kirara had to 'die'. It meant I got some company for a couple months, which was the one thing I couldn't get my hands on.

"I couldn't really get too close any ningen, or they'd start asking awkward questions, like 'where's your family?'. After Aiko's grandkids died, I couldn't count on your ancestors to cover for me; after all, it wasn't like they knew who I was, and that I was watching over them." He sighed. "It was a lonely 150 years or so. I must admit, I _did_ keep a closer eye on things than usual after you were born. No way was I going to let anything happen to you! And then... you turned fifteen, and Kirara lead you down the well. I was ecstatic. It was almost time for me to see you again. I waited an extra year to make absolutely sure I had my years right for when you couldn't use the well anymore, and well, here I am." Wordlessly, Kagome pulled her son into a tight hug.

"You're staying here from now on. You've been alone long enough; I'll explain things to _my_ Okaa-san, and we'll come up with a story for you." Shippo hugged his mother back, tears streaming down his face from his happiness.

"I-I'm glad you still want me... I know I'm not as cute as I was back then..." He stammered. Kagome smacked him upside the head.

"Don't you _ever_ think that again. Ever. I'm your mother, and I love you. I've been worried sick about you for a year now, so don't you dare even _think_ about getting away from me now." Shippo gave a watery laugh.

"I don't think I could leave, even if I wanted to. It's too nice." Kagome cocked her head to the side, her face curious.

"What's too nice, Shippo?" He smiled at her, pure joy streaming through him.

"Coming home, Okaa-san."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As much as I would love to claim the idea of Kirara being Buyo, I'm afraid I can't. It is, in fact, stolen, from a fanfiction called "The Lucky Ones" by terri botta of mediaminer. It's really and truly excellent, and you should all go read it at www. mediaminer. org/ fanfic/ viewch.php? cid165453& submitView+ Chapter& id54993 (spaces removed, of course!) Just a warning, it DOES have a high rating for several adult scenes. You can dodge those pretty easily without disrupting the plot line, though, so they don't propose much of a problem if you don't like that sort of thing.

The dictionary for this chapter is:  
kitsune- fox  
Okaa-san- mother, mom  
ojii-san, - the honorific for uncle, so "Souta-ojii-san" means "Uncle Souta"  
youkai- demon  
miko- female white magic user, generally a shinto priestess  
taijiya- demon slayer  
inu- dog  
taiyoukai- demon lord  
hanyou- half-demon  
ningen- human  
houshi- buddhist monk  
Ningenkai- Human world  
Makai- Demon world  
Reikai- Spirit world


	3. The Trials of School

I own nothing! Shippo and Kagome belong to... errrrrm... I think his/her last name is Takahashi, and I'm not even going to TRY to remember the last name of the person who wrote YuYu Hakusho...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So it was that two weeks after seeing his mother for the first time in 460 years, Shippo found himself walking into the office of his mother's high school. Much to everyone's amazement, Kagome had somehow managed to catch up on everything she had missed during her year and a half span of time in the Segoku Jidai, and gotten into a decent high school. Now, she was taking her son there, so he could be entered as a new student.

"Uhhh... hi..." Shippo said to the incredibly severe looking secretary. "I-I'm Shippo Higurashi. M-My aunt arranged for me to transfer here?" Shippo shivered at the look of irritation he received from the human secretary as he thought _I don't understand it!! I've fought youkai, including Naraku, and yet I always, _always_ find myself fearing these ningen authority figures!! IT MAKES NO SENSE!! _

Kagome giggled from her place behind Shippo, feeling her son's discomfort and fear rolling off him. Taking pity on him, she stepped forward.

"Please, Hiwatari-san, my cousin is really nervous about this. Could you please give him his schedule, and then I can take him to his class?" The secretary pierced Kagome with a look only slightly less irritated and cold than the one with which she had hit Shippo. Wordlessly, and still managing to glare at the two, Hiwatari opened a drawer in her desk, rifled through some papers she had there, finally producing a schedule for Shippo.

"There. Don't break any of the rules. Don't get lost. Have a good first day." The woman said flatly. A look of total fear crossed Shippo's face as he took the schedule and nodded. Kagome and Shippo headed out of the office, looking over his schedule. Kagome looked at her son, and grinned.

"Don't worry Shippo-kun. You have most of your classes with me, except for physical education. I can let Hojo take you to that one, if you'd like." Shippo glanced at her with an evil grin.

"Hojo... isn't that the irritating boy who practically stalks you, and can't take a hint?" Kagome beamed at him.

"Yep! He _is_ really nice though, and he'd be perfectly willing to show you around when I can't!" She sighed. "I'd like to be _friends_, or at least I would be, if he'd stop acting like he was my puppy, or something!" Shippo burst out laughing. This spontaneous display of joy caught the attention of several people around them. Shippo's appearance held it. The kitsune, while wearing his illusion spell to appear human, was quite handsome in the opinion of most ningen females. Kagome and Shippo both saw an round dozen girls' eyes widening, and taking on star struck looks. They looked at each other in quiet horror. Kagome leaned over and whispered to her dismayed son.

"If they come after us, run for the shrine. I ought to be able to modify the barrier around it to keep obsessed fangirls off the grounds..." Shippo nodded, pure terror gripping him to the depths of his soul.

_What is it about ningen females that fills me with intimidation, fear, and helplessness? Even when mobs of them form around me, I can't do anything to stop it! IT'S NOT FAIR!!_ Shippo thought desperately as one of the girls approached him, flicking dull black hair over her shoulder.

"Konichiwa! I'm Erani Misa!" She said, beaming a dazzling smile at Shippo, who resisted the urge to cringe. She did not notice, and plowed onward, "I don't think I've seen you around school before, what's your name?" Shippo did his best to smile, resulting in a pained looking grimace, while his mother had a hand clamped over her mouth to help suppress her laughter.

"Higurashi Shippo..." Shippo said slowly. Misa batted her lashes, which were clumped together due to too many layers of mascara, at him.

"Well, Higurashi-kun, do you need a hand finding your way around school?"

"Actually my– "

"Because it would be no trouble for me to help you!" She finished in her irritatingly bubbly fashion. Shippo had a look on his face that displayed how hopeless he felt about getting rid of this girl. Then Kagome stepped into the conversation.

"Actually, Erani-san, I'm already showing my cousin around." She said calmly, stepping between Misa and Shippo. The other girl scowled at Kagome, then bounced back to her bubbliness.

"Maybe he'd like some new people, Higurashi-chan." Misa said sweetly, batting her eyes at Shippo once again. Shippo felt sick, then came up with a retort.

"I thank you for the offer, Erani-san, but I'd rather stay with my cousin. She is, after all, pretty much my best friend." Misa looked somewhere between startled and offended.

"Oh! Well, if you need anything, Higurashi-kun..." She trailed off, batting her eyes yet again. Idly, Shippo wondered why her eyelashes were not sticking together; she certainly had enough mascara on for them to do so. Instead of asking, like he really wanted, he opted for another grimace and a reply.

"Uh, right..." Misa giggled, and left with a cutesy little wave.

"Come on, Shippo, let's get to class." Kagome said in a choked voice, clearly fighting the urge to laugh. Shippo gave her a dark look, and followed her to their home room.

Unfortunately for Shippo, Misa was not the only person to decide he clearly needed a girlfriend, or, in one vaguely creepy instance, a boyfriend. By third period, Shippo had reverted to kit mode, and was hiding behind his mother. This routine was also grating on her nerves. She did _not_ appreciate getting ignored by girls who were wearing entirely too much make-up and attempting to hit on her son, nor did she appreciate the looks promising eternal hatred that were sent her way each time Shippo laughed at something she said. Finally, it was fourth period, time for physical education. Calmly, Kagome lead Shippo over to Hojo.

"Hey Hojo, could you do me a favor?" She asked with a smile. Hojo beamed at her.

"I'd be happy to help, Higurashi-san!" Kagome smiled back at him.

"Well, I need a boy to take my cousin to physical education, sense I can't. Would you be willing to show him how to get there?"

"Of course, Higurashi-san! I'd be happy to help out your cousin." Hojo turned to Shippo. "I'm Hojo Aiko. It's nice to meet a cousin of Higurashi-san."

"I'm Higurashi Shippo. It's nice to meet a friend of Kagome's" Hojo's smile dimmed slightly at being called Kagome's friend, but not by much.

"Well, come on, Higurashi-san. I'll show you how to get the gym..." Hojo said, leading Shippo off.

Moments after entering the gym, Shippo decided that physical education was his favorite class, for one single solitary reason: it was not co-ed. Hojo noticed Shippo's look of relief, and put two and two together.

"Are you the new boy half the girls have been giggling about all day?" He asked. Shippo nodded with a pained expression. Hojo patted him on the back, sympathy filling his features. One of the other boys came up to Shippo, glaring.

"Oi, you're that new guy, Higurashi Shippo, right?" Shippo sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes." The guy glared at him.

"My girlfriend hasn't stopped giggling about you with her friends since she saw you in home room! Just who do you think you are?"

"Someone who would like to sincerely apologize about your girlfriend, and wishes that she'd stop just as much as you do." Shippo responded bluntly. The other guy was startled for a moment, then grinned slightly.

"Ahh, that's alright. So long as you don't get any ideas!" Shippo grinned back.

"If I go after someone, I like to make sure they're unattached. Trust me, I'm not interested." The other guy nodded, then walked off, content with this answer. Over the course of the class, Shippo slowly gained the respect of most of the guys in his class. While they might be irritated with Shippo's good looks, and girl drawing habits, the fact that he seemed pretty much uninterested put their worries that he would steal girlfriends and crushes away to rest. His popularity was sealed by the fact that he was related to Kagome, who had a great many quiet admirers among the boys of her class.

Meanwhile, in the girls' class, Kagome found herself interrogated within an inch of her life about her 'cousin'. After what she estimated to be the 120th question about Shippo, Kagome deliberately got into a position where she could be hit in the head by a basketball, purely so she could escape to the nurse's office.

At the end of physical education, Hojo lead Shippo to the cafeteria, where Kagome was waiting for them, holding an ice pack to her head. Shippo took one look, and went into protective son mode.

"What happened?" He all but growled. Kagome rolled her eyes, recognizing the symptoms of an overprotectiveness in a male youkai.

"I got sick of being interrogated by your admirers, so I conveniently placed myself in the path of a swiftly moving basketball." She stated calmly. Shippo hung his head.

"Sorry O– Kagome-chan!" He said, shuffling his feet, remembering just in time to call her Kagome-chan, and not Okaa-san. Kagome laughed, and stood on tip-toe to ruffle his hair.

"It's alright Shippo-kun. It's not like it's your fault." She turned to Hojo, and smiled. "Thank you for showing Shippo-kun around, Hojo-kun." Hojo beamed at her.

"Not a problem, Kagome-chan! You're cousin's a nice guy!" He told her.

"Mm." Kagome said in agreement, then steered Shippo to an empty table in the back of the room, hoping to escape notice.

"Before the crowd arrives, how was physical education?" Shippo face turned blissful.

"It was heaven! There weren't any girls! And the guys warmed up to me, once they realized I didn't want to date their girls. Although, the stuff they wanted us to do was pretty pathetic, for me, at least. I don't doubt it would take some actual effort from a normal person..." Kagome laughed. Shippo's smile turned evil. "And I also found out that Hojo's not the only one who finds you worth chasing after, Kagome-chan. You have quite the devoted following!" Kagome covered her eyes with her hand, shaking her head. Shippo's keen hearing caught her mumbling

"Why me, Kami? Why me?" Shippo patted her shoulder consolingly, and glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot, before speaking very softly, so only Kagome would hear.

"Don't worry, Okaa-san. I won't let anyone unworthy of you bug you." Kagome laughed.

"I know you won't. Almost makes me feel sorry for anyone who tries..."

"Higurashi-kun!" A girl squealed, setting her tray down next to Shippo. Shippo scooted away from her slightly, and glanced up at Kagome. The second their eyes met, they knew that their quiet time for lunch was over.

By the end of the day, a new school organization had formed. It was still in its early stages, and in a bit of disarray, but that would be cleared up by the next day, Kagome were certain, as she stared in horror at a hastily written flyer for the first group's meeting, while Shippo was talking to a new friend he had made in physical education. Once he was finished with his conversation, he walked up to Kagome.

"Ready to go when you– what's up?" He asked, concerned at the look of stunned amazement, tinged with horror, on his mother's face. Wordlessly, Kagome handed him the flyer for the first meeting of The Official Higurashi Shippo Fan Club. His eyes scanned it briefly, then widened. By the time he had finished reading, he was quivering in terror. He turned to look at his mother. His lips formed the words "Okaa-san, HELP!", as his vocal chords refused to work. Kagome looked at him with sympathy filled eyes.

"It's ok, Shippo-kun. Be strong. They've _got_ to be easier than Naraku." She whispered, trying to convince herself that it was true. Shippo just looked at her, his eyes betraying his disbelief. Kagome could not really blame him. "Come on Shippo, let's go home." She took his hand in hers, and very calmly lead him out of the school building.

Once they were on the shrine grounds, several blocks away from his fan club, Shippo turned to Kagome, and whispered.

"Okaa-san... I don't want a fan club! And I can't hide behind you like I used to because I'm a lot taller than you now! IT'S NOT FAIR!!" Kagome looked at him sadly.

"I know, Shippo, I know. But as much I hate to say this, life is not fair. It never has been. You really ought to be used to it by now."

"I am! But that doesn't mean I have to like, and can't complain about it!" Shippo pouted. Kagome could not help it. She laughed. Shippo glowered.

"It's not funny, Okaa-san!" Kagome made an effort to control herself.

"I know it's not... but the fact that you're still pouting like a five year old when you're over four hundred years old is!" Shippo stuck out his tongue, reducing Kagome to giggles again.

**Meanwhile, in Reikai, in the office of Koenma:**

"Whaddya want, Toddler?" A young man with slicked back black hair growled, arms crossed over his chest, death in his eyes as he glared at Koenma. "If I miss our date tonight, Keiko will _kill_." Koenma's laugh held a touch of hysteria.

"Well, I needyoutolookintosomeweirdenergywe'vebeenpickingupontheothersideofTokyo." Two of the three boys in front of him blinked twice, then turned to a tall young man with long red hair for a translation. The red head sighed.

"I believe he said he needs us to look into unusual energy that has been found on the other side of Tokyo, or something to that effect."

"Hn." The short black haired boy next to him nodded in confirmation.

"Ohhhhh." A boy with orange hair said, sounding vaguely idiotic.

"Uh, yes, that's right, Kurama." Koenma said, glancing nervously at the boy with slicked back hair. "We've been picking up this energy for a while, although it's only become steady in the past year or so." Koenma's flinched as the reason for his nerve's eyes narrowed.

"And you're sending us off after it now... why?" He asked in deadly tones.

"Because we've recently been picking up traces of demonic energy around it, to the point that we're getting concerned." Koenma answered.

"And that demonic energy can _stay_ around your precious energy source for a while." The boy snapped. "We'll go check it out tomorrow." Koenma seemed to want to protest, but then seemed to reconsider.

"Although you ought to go immediately, Yusuke, tomorrow is tolerable. Botan will take you to the shrine where we're picking up the energy after you finish school tomorrow."

"Great." Yusuke said, the look of death replaced with a look of general irritation.

"Kuwabara and I will be waiting." The boy with orange hair, Kuwabara, nodded.

"Hiei and I will be there as well." Kurama said, as calm as ever.

"Hn" Hiei muttered, arms crossed. Grinning, Botan opened a portal to the Ningenkai, and gestured them through, with a cheerful "See you tomorrow!"

"Uh, well, I guess that's everything. Botan will take you back to Ningenkai now..." Koenma found himself speaking to only the blue haired grim reaper, who was trying, and failing, to suppress her giggling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I fell in love with the concept of Shippo having a fan club and fearing it, and the concept of him not being to face down a human female, even after dealing with Naraku.  
And I warned you that this would be a cross over! The Reikai Tantei have entered the story! It makes me happy!

And I apologize that everyone, especially Koenma and Kagome in this particular chapter, is slightly OOC. This is just how I pictured things happening. I hope it wasn't too extreme...


	4. The Meeting

These lovely characters aren't mine. Shippo and Kagome belong to the writer of "InuYasha" and the Reikai Tantei and Botan belong to the writer of "Yu Yu Hakusho". Honestly, would I be worrying about dollar to euro exchange rates, freaking that I wouldn't have enough money while in Europe if I wrote those manga? No. No I wouldn't. But guess what? I did.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next afternoon, the Reikai Tantei found themselves dumped in front of a large public high school, followed by Botan. Yusuke looked around, then glared at Botan.

"I thought you said this 'energy source' was at a shrine!" Botan shrugged.

"Not exactly. You see, it moves. It spends long periods of time both at the shrine and here, leading us to believe that it might be in possession of one of the students."

"_Now_ you tell us." Yusuke muttered. Kuwabara started.

"What is _that_?" He pointed across the school yard. The others followed his finger, and saw a girl with long, blue-black hair. Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"That, Kuwabara, is a girl." Kurama said patiently, before Yusuke or Hiei could get in a stinging remark.

"More importantly, that's the energy source! Can you tell if it's the girl herself, or something she's carrying?" Botan sounded almost frantic. Kuwabara shrugged.

"Not really. It's part of her aura, so I'm going to guess it's her..." Botan nodded slowly, then turned to the boys, placed her hands on her hips, and glared.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go talk to her!"

"Alright, alright, we're going!" Yusuke grumbled. Suddenly, the girl and a red-headed boy started walking away from the school at a brisk pace. Innocently, Yusuke smiled at Botan, who was clearly anxious. "Awe, gee, she left. Guess we can't go get her..."

"YUSUKE!!" Botan shrieked, brandishing her oar.

"Alright, alright! Let's go." Yusuke and the others began following the path of the girl and her companion. Kurama and Hiei, the youkai members of the group, began using their superior hearing once they caught sight of the duo.

"Did we lose them?" The boy asked, sounding hopeful. The girl laughed dryly.

"You're joking, right? Us, manage to lose your fan club? No way! Especially not the new members..."

"Why me? Why, Kami, why?!" The boy asked melodramatically. Kurama resisted the urge to laugh. The Youko in him rather liked this boy. The girl giggled.

"Because you're too good looking for your own good, Shippo-kun. Besides, I'm the one who ought to be complaining. Or did you forget that _I'm _the one getting all the grief because you talk to me on a regular basis, never mind the fact that I'm your cousin?" The boy, now identified as Shippo, winced.

"Gomen nasai, O-Kagome-chan! Sooo... how should we get away from them?" The girl, Kagome, shrugged.

"The secondary plan?"

"You mean the one we used when inu-" Shippo began.

"Hai, that one. At the first opportunity."

"Mmm." They turned a corner. The Reikai Tantei were relatively certain that there was a cross-walk on the other side. As they turned the corner, a semi covered their view of the other side. When it had passed, they saw Kagome and Shippo pelting down the opposite side of the street at an insane speed.

"Aww maaaaan..." Yusuke groaned.

"Hn." Hiei darted off in pursuit. The others looked at each other, shrugged, and let Hiei handle it.

"Don't kill her, Hiei!" Botan called after him, hoping her words would be heeded if Kagome gave him trouble.

Shippo and Kagome noticed the group of four boys and one girl almost immediately. It was kind of hard _not _to notice; they _were _putting off a lot of energy, and two of them _were _youkai.

"That's the current Reikai team." Shippo murmured so only Kagome could hear him. "Or rather, the boys are. The girl is actually the Grim Reaper. The group is lead by the boy with slicked back hair- Urameshi Yusuke." Kagome nodded slowly.

"Do they work for King Enma?" She asked. Shippo shook his head.

"No. They work for Koenma. They're actually not bad sorts; mostly they ensure that youkai and ningen stay separate, and they don't take out demons they don't have to. Except the short one. He has a nasty reputation, a bit like Sesshoumaru's." Kagome nodded in 

understanding. They group of boys started towards them. Kagome and Shippo glanced at each other, then started for the shrine at a brisk pace, chatting aimlessly.

Eventually, Shippo got hopeful.

"Did we lose them?" Kagome laughed at her son.

"You're joking, right?" She could sense the boys behind the two of them, so she decided to maintain the facade of idle, unaware conversation. "Us, manage to lose your fan club? No way! Especially not the new members..." She trailed off, glancing at Shippo, who nodded slightly to show that he understood.

"Why me? Why, Kami, why?!" Shippo asked, a mixture of the plaintive kit Kagome had met centuries ago, and the melodramatic tendencies that had developed in the years since. Kagome giggled at her son's antics.

"Because you're too good looking for your own good, Shippo-kun." She explained, just like any mother would, then continued in mock irritation, "Besides, I'm the one who ought to be complaining. Or did you forget that _I'm _the one getting all the grief because you talk to me on a regular basis, never mind the fact that I'm your 'cousin'?" Shippo winced, a guilty look crossing his face. Kagome knew that if she could see them, his ears and tails would be drooping.

"Gomen nasai, O-" He stopped himself from saying Okaa-san, "Kagome-chan! Sooo... how should we get away from them?" The girl, Kagome, shrugged.

"The secondary plan?" She suggested. Shippo's eyebrows knit together.

"You mean the one we used when Inu-"

"Hai, that one." Kagome cut him off before he could say InuYasha's incredibly youkai sounding name. "At the first opportunity."

"Mmm." They turned the corner, looked at each other, and broke into a run. They knew they would probably get caught pretty quickly, but it was their best bet.

"Split up at the warehouse. Take the long way." Kagome panted quietly. Shippo looked a little uncertain, but nodded.

The warehouse was at the next corner. With a last glance back at his mother, Shippo turned left, allowing Kagome to keep going straight. As she had predicted, it was not long before one of the boys, the short one, caught her.

_Please let them leave Shippo alone... _She prayed silently.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Kagome yelled, trying to jerk her wrist out of the boy's grip. "Who are you anyway?"

"Be quiet, onna." The boy snarled, then took off running, dragging Kagome with him. Kagome found herself very glad that she had been carried so much by Kouga and InuYasha during the Sengoku Jidai, otherwise she would have been scared to death by their speed. As it was, she just barely managed to keep herself from screaming. They came to a stop in front of the corner where she and Shippo had started running. Kagome looked around her for a moment, then opted to act clueless.

"What the heck is going on? Why did you grab me? Who are you guys, anyway? Can't I just go home without being followed?" She asked angrily. Yusuke and the Grim Reaper winced, and the tallest of the boys, an unattractive human with orange hair, clasped his hands together, got down on one knee, and asked with a dreadful eagerness.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Kagome's eyes narrowed to slits, and went with her default settings, programmed by a year and a half with Miroku and his 'cursed' hand. She slapped him, hard, and screamed.

"HENTAI!!" The reactions were varied.

"Baka." That was the short guy who had grabbed her, who was now looking smug. The boy Shippo had identified as Yusuke laughed and said

"Give it up Kuwabara!" The other red-head of the group covered his eyes with his hand. The Grim Reaper tried to cover up her giggles, and failed. Then Yusuke spoke again.

"Look, I'm sorry about Kuwabara, Kagome, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. And, you are?"

"Urameshi Yusuke. The baka who asked you out is Kuwabara Kazuma, shorty over there is Hiei, that's Minamino Shuichi, and this is Botan." Kagome nodded.

"Nice to meet you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home." Kagome turned on her heel. Someone behind her sighed.

"If you leave, I'll just have to send Hiei after you again." Yusuke called. Kagome turned to glare at them, her arms crossing.

"What do you want?" She asked bluntly, sounding half as irritated as she was. Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"That's what _I _want to know." Botan stamped her foot.

"Koenma wants to talk to her!"

"Apparently, our boss wants to talk to you." Yusuke dutifully repeated. Kagome just stared at him for a moment, then turned and started walking home. She heard someone sigh, she guessed Yusuke, because he spoke next.

"Somebody grab her. Botan, open a portal." Kagome felt someone scoop her up.

"Hey!" She yelled.

"Gomen nasai, Kagome-san." Kagome identified her captor as Shuichi as he carried her through the portal Botan had made.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I cranked this out during various guest speakers while I was at camp! I think the characters aren't quite right, especially the YuYu Hakusho gang, which irritates me, but other than that...

the dictionary:  
Reikai Tantei- spirit detectives  
Youkai- demon  
Ningen- human  
Okaa-san- mother  
-kun- indicates close friendship for an older male  
-chan- indicates close friendship with a girl  
-san- Miss, Mr., Ms., or Mrs.  
Hai- yes  
Mm- yeah  
Onna- woman


	5. Recruitment

First of all, responses to my lovely reviewers:

Blackstrawberry: Thanks! Believe me, I know how rare good coming out of math class is! I'm the person who couldn't even pass her Calculus AP, and therefore get that small amount of good from a year of Hell…..

Evil Bunny of Death: Weeeell….. I can't really tell you how Shippo will react. It would spoil the story, you see. I _can_ tell you that he will react exactly how his mother wants him to, because he's a good son!

Kira-Kitsune-No-Tenshi-Godess: I loved the concept of Shippo having a fanclub too! That's why I made him have one! I thought it was hilarious! As to whom Kagome is going to end up with… well, I err, cough don't exactly know yet. I know she's not going to end up with Shippo, because that's just creepy in my book, and I know she's not going to end up with InuYasha, 'cause he's, well, dead, but other than that, it's up in the air. Scratch that, I'm 99.99 sure she's not going to end up with Hiei, Kuwabara, Koenma, or Hojo. However, she might decide that the available boys are all idiots, and therefore will remain single. I honestly don't know…..

I don't own InuYasha. I wish I did, because I could buy a nice new tv to watch the Olympics on! By the way... Go Nastia Liukin! She rocked the All Around Gymnastics competition last night, and looked frickin' awesome doing it! cheers about the Americans beating the cheating Chinese Yang Yilin, who she swears isn't really 14, but 11. Either that, or she's been starved her entire life.

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -

Kagome found herself carried into a large office, which seemed to be manned entirely by ogres. This was odd in and of itself, but what really stunned Kagome was that sitting behind the largest desk, clearly in charge, was an oversized toddler with a bright red pacifier. Even for Kagome, who had seen a lot of unusual things in her 17 years, it was pretty weird. She realized, of course, where they must be. This had to be the headquarters of the Reikai, which meant that the oversized toddler in charge must be Koenma. Swiftly, Kagome decided to maintain her "I know nothing" claim. She had no desire for the Reikai to find out about Shippo and Kirara. It had taken a year, or 465 years, depending on the perspective, for her family to be reunited; she would not let it be torn apart _again _by a pacifier-sucking little boy.

"Sir, this is the energy source we've been picking up." The Grim Reaper, Botan was pretty sure her name was, informed Koenma. The toddler glanced up from his paperwork absently, and muttered something along the lines of "very good". Yusuke rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and slammed his hand down right next to Koenma.

"Hey, toddler! We just went across town to pick up this girl, who wasn't exactly cooperative! If you do not actually _talk _to this chick, I will have to do something painful." He snarled, successfully attracting Koenma's attention. Kagome could not help but giggle, then felt a pang at how much the boy resembled an irritated InuYasha. She did not have time to dwell on this comparison, because that was when Koenma really looked at her, and she looked at him. Their eyes locked, and Koenma's eyes widened. Kagome cursed mentally. Apparently, she was still 

recognizable to some of the Reikai's employees, one of the last things she wanted. So, she tried to shake the recognition.

"Of _course _I was uncooperative! You followed me from school, then sent someone to _chase _me! I don't even _know _you people! Heck, I don't even know where the Hell we are! Would someone please tell me what the _heck_ is going on?!" Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama looked slightly guilty, Kuwabara and Yusuke more so than Kurama. Hiei on the other hand, showed no remorse for his actions. In fact, Hiei did not really show any emotion whatsoever. Shippo had not been kidding when he said he was like Sesshoumaru. Koenma and Botan, like most of the tantei, looked a bit ashamed of themselves. Kagome felt a glimmer of hope that she would get out of this without being identified, and more importantly, without anyone noticing the small pink orb-shaped jewel hanging in the center of a strand of jade prayer beads around her neck, and under her school uniform. Kagome had no desire to start fighting for the Shikon no Tama again, and that was quite certain that was what would happen if Koenma found out she had it. The junior ruler of the Reikai cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I'd like to speak to this young lady alone for a bit. It won't take long." The Reikai tantei looked at him suspiciously, but filed out. Botan, however, stayed put.

"You're not getting rid of me." She said bluntly. Kagome giggled. Koenma sighed, but nodded before turning back to Kagome.

"Hello Kagome." He said calmly. Kagome acted freaked.

"How do you know my name?" Koenma looked at her.

"Higurashi Kagome. Age 17, fell through a time warp at the age of 15 to the Sengoku Jidai, where it was discovered that she was the reincarnation of the miko Kikyou, and were the Shikon no Tama no miko. Responsible for the release of the hanyou InuYasha from a binding spell placed upon him by Kikyou, and later fell in love with him. Shattered the Shikon no Tama with an arrow, spent a year and a half searching for the shards with the aforementioned hanyou, the taijiya Sango, the houshi Miroku, and the kitsune youkai kit Shippo, whom you adopted. Responsible for the final defeat of the spider hanyou Naraku, formerly the ningen bandit Onigumo." Koenma listed off coolly, looking her straight in the eyes. "That is just a summary of the dossier the Reikai has developedon you, Kagome-sama. Would you like to see the picture that is included? It's quite good." Kagome blinked, trying to find a way out of this mess. After a moment of wracking her brain for a solution, she admitted defeat. She glared at Koenma.

"No, I wouldn't. So, you know who I am. Great. Can I go home now?"

"No. When we got the spark of power at your shrine, I hoped it was you. I sent my tantei after you today because I was certain your time in the Sengoku Jidai was over."

"This is all very interesting," Kagome said, with a growing sense of doom, "But why do I have to stay here?"

"I'd like you to join the Reikai tantei." Koenma said, as though conveying a great honor upon her. Kagome's eyes narrowed to slits.

"No." Koenma began spluttering.

"Wh-what? Why not?"

"I said 'no'. I refuse to work for a bunch of murderers." Kagome informed him in an icy tone, which made Koenma shudder.

"Kagome-sama, what would make you say that the Reikai are murderers? Yes, the tantei are obliged to, err, eliminate, the occasional youkai, but I wouldn't call that _murder_…" Kagome looked him right in the eyes, and said in a low, dangerous voice.

"InuYasha." Koenma winced.

"You… found out about that?" He asked weakly.

"Yes."

"Ahh, well, you must understand, that was during my father's early administration. That sort of thing doesn't happen anymore…" Koenma trailed off hopefully, then gulped fearfully as Kagome's look turned deadly.

"It's a tad bit stupid to ask a girl to work for the people who killed her protector." Kagome hissed. Koenma blanched.

"That was… official?" he asked weakly.

"Of course it was! Kaede appointed him to the post just after I shattered the Shikon no Tama, and, albeit only because he didn't have a lot of choice, he accepted. He was my protector from day one! Of course, that went to heck in a hand basket when the well closed behind me…" Kagome fell silent, fighting the lump that was rising in her throat. Botan reached out and tentatively patted Kagome's shoulder with a quiet "There, there". Kagome smiled bitterly.

"Thank you. But you see why I'm not exactly open to working for the Reikai…"

"Actually," Koenma said hesitantly, "You're opposed to working for my father. The Reikai tantei work for me." Kagome glared at him. Koenma hurried onward. "Really, Kagome, wouldn't you like to help the ningen and the youkai? That is what I try to get the tantei to do." Kagome bit her lip. She did want to help her fellow ningen, but, more importantly, she wanted to keep Shippo and Kirara in the Ningenkai, and out of the Makai. That thought gave Kagome an idea. She smiled in a slow, slightly evil fashion.

"Alright. How about we make a deal." Kagome offered sweetly. Koenma leaped at the chance.

"Yes, of course!"

"Three things: First, you don't tell the other tantei about the Sengoku Jidai."

"I can certainly arrange that…" Koenma began, only to be cut off by Kagome.

"Second, let's make sure it's clear: I work for you, not your father."

"Of course."

"And third, you give me official permission for two youkai of my choice to live in the Ningenkai." Koenma choked.

"_What_?" Kagome smiled sweetly.

"You give me official permission for two youkai of my choice to live in the Ningenkai."

"But- but-" Koenma spluttered. Kagome's eyes narrowed.

"Take it or leave it." Koenma sighed in defeat.

"Take it." He said in a dejected tone, and searched around on his desk for the appropriate forms.

About twenty minutes later, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei were dragged back into the office. Needless to say, they were _not_ happy.

"What _now_?" Yusuke growled. Botan sighed, irritated.

"Yusuke, are you _ever _going to show proper respect?"

"No." The tantei replied bluntly, making Kagome want to laugh and cry at the same time because of his similarity to InuYasha. Koenma glared.

"I actually wanted you to meet the new member of your team." He snapped.

"WHAT?!" All four boys asked, stunned and quite vocal about it.

"You have a new member on your team." Koenma said calmly.

"Who exactly is this new member?" Kurama asked politely. Koenma smiled, happy to be able to stun and irritate the tantei.

"I'd like you to meet Higurashi Kagome, the new member of your team." This announcement was met with dead silence, then chaos struck in the form of Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"WHAT?!"

"But she's a GIRL!"

"Seriously, Koenma, who's the new member of our team?" Hiei and Kurama looked hard at Kagome, focusing on her as if trying to figure out what she could possibly be able to do. Kagome's arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed to slits. She had experienced enough of being treated like a piece of useless deadweight during the first part of the year and a half she had spent with InuYasha, and had no intention of letting it happen again. Coolly, she turned to Koenma.

"Fine. They don't want me on the team, and I don't particularly want to be a part of the team. Call me if they decide they need my help. Otherwise, leave me alone!" She said in tones that could have come from the arctic, and turned to Botan. "Can you open me a portal to my shrine? My family's probably getting worried." Botan glanced at Koenma, who nodded. The blue haired grim reaper smiled brightly.

"Sure! Come on!" The two girls left, leaving the boys with Koenma, who scowled.

"I must congratulate you on alienating Kagome that quickly. I hope you can make peace with her."

"Why should we?" Yusuke asked, confused. "Didn't she say that she didn't want to be a part of the team?" Koenma glared harder at him.

"With the price I paid to get her to agree to join the team in the first place, she is going to be on the team if she is the _only_ member of the team." Kurama's eyebrows raised.

"What exactly did you have to give her?" he asked, with encouragement from Youko, who was interested in what could convince a girl as pretty as their new teammate to join a dangerous group like the Reikai tantei. Koenma coughed uncomfortably.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. She asked for confidentiality." Kurama's eyebrows rose even higher.

"Is there anything about her that you _can _tell us?" He asked dryly.

"Koenma shuddered.

"Suffice to say it is a _very _bad idea to annoy her. Although, she _is _very forgiving…" This time it was Hiei who responded.

"Hnn. We'll see."

-- - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- -- -

So, it looks like Kagome has been very sneaky, and gotten everything she wants out of the Reikai. I think the tantei are going to have an interesting time with her...


	6. Let the Training Begin

An important thing to note: I don't own InuYasha, therefore, I don't own Shippou, Kirara, or Kagome. Neither do I own Yu Yu Hakusho, meaning I don't own Koenma, Botan, or Genkai. I also don't own any other characters from either manga/anime that I neglected to mention.

-- -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - -

"Okaa-san!" Shippou yelled, clearly relieved, the second he saw Kagome climbing up the shrine steps, and ran out to meet her. She laughed, and held out her arms, letting Shippou dart into them to give her a frantic hug, then pick her up and swing her around. Gently, he set her down, and became serious. "What happened, Okaa-san? You were gone for almost an hour. I was headed for panic mode!" Kagome laughed again.

"Where to begin? I got abducted by the Reikai tantei so I could talk to Koenma. Turns out, he reeeeeally wants me to be a part of the Reikai tantei." Shippou growled.

"After the Reikai murdered InuYasha?"

"I know Koenma didn't think I'd know about it." She said dryly. Shippou shook his head in awe.

"Wow. And here I thought _someone _in the Reikai must have noticed all the illusion casting I've done, and put it together with the fact that I hung around the shrine whenever I could. I mean… it's not like I was _that_ sneaky!" Kagome rolled her eyes, pulled out a sheaf of papers, and handed them to Shippou.

"He didn't even put the pieces together when I told him that I'd work for _him_, not the Reikai or Enma, if he'd give me permission for two youkai to live in the Ningenkai." Shippou's jaw dropped as he opened the set of papers to read the heading "Ningenkai Residency Permit".

"Okaa-san! You didn't!" Kagome smirked.

"Ohhhhhh, yes I did! I wasn't about to let the Reikai find an excuse to ship you and Kirara off to the Makai. I'm you okaa-san, it's my job to make sure you stay out of trouble with the authorities." Shippou was still a bit uncertain.

"You shouldn't work for the Reikai just to keep me out of the Makai…."

"But I _want_ to make sure you stay out of the Makai, even if it means working for the Reikai. Besides, I'm not doing it _just_ for you." She beamed. "I'm doing it for Kirara too!"

"Okaa-san…" Shippou groaned. Kagome hugged him again.

"Don't worry about it, Shippou-chan." She told her son soothingly. "Koenma probably won't even call me—the boys weren't too happy about the idea of a girl being on their precious team. Seemed to think I could do anything…." Shippou snorted and rolled his eyes.

"_Everyone_ seems to think that. Until you show them just how _un_useless you are. Scares them half to death when you do." Kagoome giggled.

"Of course it does. That's the fun part! At any rate, Koenma's sending me off for some more training. Apparently, he talked someone who knows something about Mikoki into training me. We'll see how that goes…."

The next afternoon, Kagome got on a bus and headed to the Mushiori City district of Tokyo, and the shrine where Koenma had arranged for her to train. She had heard of it, of course. Genka's shrine was, after all, the largest shrine in Tokyo, and she had spent a great deal of time listening to Ji-chan muttering darkly about the fact. So, she had some idea of what to expect when she knocked on the front door. It was answered by a short elderly woman, who gave off a crackling aura of power, and intimidation. Kagome smiled. This was a teacher with whom she would get along quite well. She bowed.

"Konichiwa. Higurashi Kagome desu. I'm supposed to come here for training." Genka's nodded once, shortly, then turned and walked back into the shrine. She looked back over her shoulder and glared.

"Well, don't just stand there, girl! Come on!" Kagome hid a smile.

"Yes ma'am." The two walked into a large room with three gaming machines: one for karaoke, one for a rock paper scissors game, and one of those hammer games. "Before we get started, I want to see what I'm working with. These machines will measure your spiritual energy in three areas: foresight, strength, and spirit manipulation. It takes three wins using at rock peeper scissors to beat the game, a score of at least one hundred to beat the hammer game, and there are no rules for karaoke. Go." Kagome went. Her score for the rock paper scissors game was three for five; she got something like 120 on the hammer game, and scored through the roof on spirit manipulation. Genkai's eyebrows rose. "Impressive." She murmured. Kagome grinned.

"Thank you." Genkai went into lecture mode.

"Now, Koenma didn't tell me how much training, if any, you've had. If you don't mind, I'd like to know." Kagome shrugged.

"Not a lot, really. I was taught how to make barriers, for the most part, and I can do a bit of control of the amount of power I unleash. We managed to get strength to two settings: Almost nothing, so I can use my powers to help heal anyone, even a youkai, and what I call the 'Fry the Youkai Coming at You into Oblivion' setting, which is pretty self explanatory." Genkai chuckled, and Kagome continued. "I still need something to channel my power through something if I'm on Fry the Demon Coming at You into Oblivion, but since I'm generally using my arrows to fight anyway, it isn't really a problem. The almost nothing setting I can channel without help through my hands, and I can use it to purify wounds, to keep out infection, and 

cauterize the damage. We were getting ready to move on to some slightly more advanced healing stuff, but then…. Well, things just didn't work out." Genkai nodded slowly.

"I see. Well, it looks like we have a lot of work to do. Let's get started." She walked into a large dojo, and Kagome followed. There were a few targets set up on one side of the room, and Kagome had a feeling she knew what was coming. "Now, I want you to take these" Genkai thrust a bow and quiver into her hands, and Kagome took them automatically. "And shoot each of the targets. Just to see what you're capable of." Kagome nodded, lifted the bow, knocked an arrow, and fired. Ten targets later, Genkai told her to stop. "You have a lot of raw talent. Not a lot of training, though. We can fix that." She smiled evilly, and Kagome gulped. The girl had a feeling this would be a long, painful training process.

She was right. Genkai's training was a brutal practice of intense control over her purification powers. By the end of her first session, her head was throbbing from doing the mental equivalent of dragging a several hundred pound weight up a cliff. However, she had made significant progress towards gaining a third power setting, which would hopefully paralyze a youkai instead of killing it. Kagome was silently happy that Genkai was so harsh. This way, she was never reminded of the quiet hours spent in Kaede's hut, learning how to create barriers even stronger than Naraku's, and rein back on her powers enough to use them to heal Shippou, Kirara, InuYasha, and any other youkai who fought on their side against Naraku. Where Genkai was harsh and demanded that she work her hardest all the time, Kaede had been gentle, understanding that their times in the village were also Kagome's only time to relax a bit, so as long as Kagome had tried, and succeeded at the tasks set before her by the time InuYasha had gotten too fidgety to stay in the village any longer, she was willing to let her student slack a bit. It would take a while for her to get used to Genkai's much rougher training methods, but Kagome knew that in the long run, it would probably be beneficial. At least, that was what she told herself as she dragged herself to the bus stop to catch her bus home.

Two days later, Kagome and Shippou were running home from, with a small mob of fan girls chasing after Shippou, when Botan popped up ahead of them.

"Hey Kagome-" She began, only to be cut off by a panting Kagome.

"Wait…. Until… we get….. home. Can't….. talk…. Right now. Trying…. To escape… fan girls." Botan looked startled. She threw a glance behind the still running duo, and her eyes widened in amazement at the pack of girls following them. She understood.

"Goodness! They're as bad as the pack that follows Kurama!" Botan murmured, impressed in spite of herself. She then turned, and followed the path Kagome and Shippou had taken on her oar.

Less than five minutes later, Botan found the mother and son again, just inside the shrine's boundary. Shippou looked harried, but fine, and Kagome looking ready to hyperventilate. The human girl glanced up at Botan, and smiled.

"Ok, now that we should be safe from rapid fan girls, what's up Botan? You can talk in front of Shippou; he knows." Botan nodded, then began the message Koenma gave her.

"You're needed in the Reikai, Kagome-sama. Koenma-sama has a mission for the tantei."

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - -

Sorry that this took so long! I started school at the end of last month, and things have sort of been piling up. I'm glad that I finally managed to finish it!

At any rate, this is sort of a filler chapter, as you can tell. Although, I DID like how incompetent the Reikai is...


	7. Snails are Tougher than They Look

I do not own InuYasha, or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, then I would not be squealing with delight at the thought of the very, VERY nice scholarships that have been offered to me for college! Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha, and I can never remember the name of the person who owns Yu Yu Hakusho...

- - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -

"Aw man, Koenma! Did you have to call in the girl too?" Yusuke asked, seriously irked, when Kagome entered Koenma's office. Her eyes flashed. She glared at Koenma.

"I told you not to call me unless you weren't going to put me with a packs of whiny brats!" she hissed. Koenma gulped.

"P-please Kagome-san just bear with them for a little while! I" Kagome's glare intensified. Koenma fell silent with a gulp, and a shudder.

"I spent nearly a year being underappreciated and compared to somebody else. I refuse to do it again for a bunch of boys. "She whirled, and smiled sweetly at Botan. "Botan would you please open a portal near my home? I'd appreciate it." Botan glanced at 1hoenmai who shook his head.

"I'm sorry Kagome-san, but I'm afraid I can't." Kagome sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I can't say it's unexpected." She said ruefully.

"Kagome-san, would you please work with the other tantei?" Koenma asked tentatively. Kagome went into what was known as her "Ice Queen" mode, which she had picked up from Seshoumaru. Koenma gulped.

"Do I have a choice? you're not going to let me leave until I do." she said flatly, walking up to join the other tantei. They all glanced at her, their various opinions coming to their faces. Kurama's face showed a bit of sympathy, as a community service draftee, he understood her feeling of being backed into a corner. Hiei was glaring, trying to figure out why his Jagan could not penetrate her mind. Kuwahara was confused, trying to sort through the conflicting, messed up emotions manifesting themselves on her aura, predominantly anger and sorrow. Yusuke was, of course, just glaring at her, wanting her to go away so he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt or something. Koenma sighed.

"Just give each other a chance. I assure you, Kagome-san can take care of herself, Yusuke,

and Yusuke will probably stop treating like deadweight once he sees you fight." Kagome looked away, eyes darkening.

_"Just give him a chance, InuYasha! He's just a little kid; he needs someone to watch him."_

_"Just give him a chance, InuYasha! He might be a pervert, both he could be a lot of help against Naraku! He's got as much reason too hate him as you do!"_

_"Come on, InuYasha. I know you don't like Sango, but she and Kirara could be really helpful! I've been right about the others, haven't I? Just give her a chance... please?"_

The established tantei team saw Kagome's change in posture, and realized that she was going to cave. When she looked up, her eyes were sad, as was the slights smile on her face. They were stunned to hear her say very quietly.

"You had to say that, didn't you?" she sighed, and looked at the floor. "I've asked someone to give people a chance often enough that I can't afford not to do so myself. You win; I'll give it a shot." the boys stared.

_I wonder what she means by that..._ Kurama thought idly. Youko was doing the mental equivalent of robbing his hands together gleefully.

**_She's a puzzle, that one! And she has a nice voice, when she isn't yelling._** Kurama suppressed a grin. It looked like he would be spending a lot of time around Kagome, or at least, he would if Youko had anything to say about it.

Yusuke was not so easy to convince. "Koenma, we can handle it without her, she'd only been the way!" Koenma glared at Yusuke

"Put up with it for one mission, then make up your mind. about Kagome." Yusuke threw up his hands in disgust.

"Fine. She better not come crying to us when she gets hurt!" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I assure you, I won't." She said sarcastically. "Lets get this over with, shall we?" Yusuke glared at her, but nodded curtly.

"So, what do ya got for us, Toddler?" He asked. Koenma glared again.

"I am not a toddler! At any rate, we're not exactly sure what you're dealing with. We're just sensing the youkai flare, and then there have been problems in the same part of Tokyo as the flare. He might have a hostage, just to warn you…." Yusuke nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

A little over five minutes later, they found the youkai. Kuwabara and Yusuke's jaws dropped.

"Is that…. A snail?" Kuwabara asked, a little stunned that so much damage could be done by something like that. Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Evidently, baka." Kurama broke in before the usual arguing could begin.

"Snail youkai are a lot tougher than they look. Their slime is highly acidic, and their shell…" Yusuke took aim with his reigan, and shot at the youkai's shell. It ricocheted off, without making a mark, and headed straight towards them. Everyone ducked.

"Ok….. That didn't work…." Yusuke muttered, startled. Kurama shook his head.

"As I was saying, their shell is pure, reflective youki. Meaning, absolutely nothing can get through it, except a-" The snail youkai decided that now was an excellent time to demonstrate his slime shooting abilities, and begin the clichéd, "I am the evil villain, FEAR ME!!" speech, which was, of course, cued by the even more clichéd evil laughter.

"You foolish Reikai thugs! Do you think to defeat me? I, who have far greater defenses than you ever will? Not to mention, a hostage, who is hidden where you will never find her!" The snail droned on and on for another ten to fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, Kurama finished his sentence.

"Nothing can get through the shell except some sort of purification. In the old days, I would have said your best bet would be to kidnap a miko, and talk her into getting rid of the thing, but since they've pretty much died out…. We're going to need to find a houshi who knows what he's doing. That should work too." Kagome laughed.

"Don't bother." She said calmly, and took the concealment spell Shippou had given her off of her bow and quiver. She smiled sweetly at the others, who looked at her like she was crazy, knocked her arrow, and shot. The youkai screamed upon the arrow's conact with his shell. After all, getting purified is not a pleasant experience. Neatly, Kagome reapplied the concealment spell to her weaponry, and turned back to the boys, who were staring, except Hiei. "What?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, and looking entirely too innocent for her own good.

_**Oh, she's good. Sneaky little thing. I never would have guessed she was a miko.**_ Youko said delightedly to Kurama.

_Neither would I, although I don't think sneaky is the right word._ Kurama replied, dryly.

_**She's definitely a puzzle. Why didn't she tell us from the start?**_

_Maybe she didn't think it was any of our business, Youko. Now hush. We need to pay attention._ Youko did so, grumbling the entire time. Kurama focused on the conversation going on outside of his head.

"What the Hell just happened?!" Yusuke yelled at Kagome, who rolled her eyes.

"I just purified the snail youkai. I should think that was obvious."

"How?!"

"I'm a miko." Kagome said patiently. "That's why Koenma is forcing us to put up with each other. He's desperate to get one on his team." Yusuke blinked.

"But didn't Kurama say they had died out?"

"No, I said they had mostly died out. Apparently, Kagome-san is one of the rare ones." Kurama corrected him. "There's no other way she could have purified that youkai." Kagome smiled slightly at Kurama.

"Yes, that's right. As far as I know, I'm the first one in my family with genuine powers in the past….. Three generations? Maybe four. Either way, it's weird, and we don't know why I do and no one else does, just like we don't know why I manifested late." She paused. "Ummmm….. Does anyone have a way of finding that hostage the snail mentioned?" The other tantei looked guilty, except for Hiei, at having totally forgotten the hostage.

"Uhh, yeah!" Yusuke said hastily. "Hiei, can you look for him with your Jagan?"

"Hn." the hybrid muttered, and opened his Jagan eye to start looking. After a moment, he stopped. "She's over there, behind the crate. And it's a kid."The others looked a bit surprised.

"Ningen or youkai?" Yusuke asked.

"Hn. Youkai."

"Greeaaat. Anyone want to go get the kid?"

"I'll go." Kagome said calmly. She walked over to the crate, and knelt down. "Hey. It's alright, you can come out now. The snail can't hurt you anymore." There was a whimper from inside the crate, and the sound of someone moving. "That's it," Kagome encouraged. "Come on, you can do it." A little girl crawled out of the crate, and into Kagome's waiting arms. She was not really surprised by the fact that the child was a little smaller than Shippou had been when she had first met him; she had assumed that the kid would have to have been pretty young in order to get caught by a snail. The other humans, however were stunned.

"What the- How the Hell is she so small?" Yusuke demanded. The youkai child whimpered, and buried her face into Kagome's skirt. Kagome took a good look at the little girl. She had reddish brown hair, and golden eyes a little darker than InuYasha's had been. Kagome rubbed the girl's back and opened her mouth to answer, but found there was no need.

"Canine youkai, that would be kitsune, inu, ookami, and the like, are all that small as young children. I'd say she's about… seven years old, or a bit younger." Kurama responded softly. Kagome nodded. Yusuke shrugged.

"Keh. Whatever. Hey, kid, where are your parents?" the little girl burst into tears, and buried her face even deeper into Kagome's skirt.

"The snail got 'em!" she wailed, "He came and covered them in acid, and, and…." She started crying even louder. Gently, Kagome picked her up, and cradled her to her neck. She then started to make a crooning growl that InuYasha had taught her to calm Shippou when he woke with nightmares about the Thunder Brothers. Kurama raised his eyebrows.

"Impressive. Where did you learn that?" he asked softly, kneeling down next to her to take a good look at the child. Kagome smiled slightly, but did not answer, gesturing towards the child, who was finally calming down. Kurama nodded in understanding, then turned to the child, smiling slightly. "I hate to ask, but what kind of youkai are you?" The child sniffled, then murmured quietly

"Coyote." She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and she blinked a couple times.

"And what's your name?"

"Hikari." Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep, still clinging to Kagome. A few minutes later, Kagome rose, and spoke softly.

"We should get back. Koenma will want to know about this…." The others shrugged, and called Botan on the communicator.

"So, this is the hostage the….snail youkai…. had up his sleeve." Koenma asked, staring at the bleary eyed seven year old, who had refused to leave Kagome's arms.

"Yep." Yusuke said bluntly, looking bored.

"And her parents are dead?"

"That's what the kid said." Yusuke confirmed. Koenma blinked, then tried to look serious.

"Well, that leaves us with a problem." he said hesitantly. Yusuke glared at him.

"What?" he demanded flatly. Koenma gulped.

"Well… she needs someone to take care of her." Yusuke shrugged.

"Dump her on some other coyote youkai to take care of." Koenma shook his head.

"Coyote youkai don't care for young other than their own. They would reject her. I don't know what to do with her." Kagome's eyes flashed as Hikari whimpered, and buried her face into Kagome's neck.

"You could just ask." She said bluntly. Koenma turned to look at her, startled. Then, slowly but surely, he began to make the mental connections.

"You mean, you would…" He asked, looking as though she had offered him salvation. Kagome rolled her eyes, and answered dryly.

"I've done it before, and I guarantee after this one, I'll be doing it again. It's not a problem." Koenma nodded eagerly.

"Yes, Kagome-san! That would be excellent! Thank you!" Kagome glared at him.

"That's not necessary." She turned to Botan. "Can I go home now? I have some explaining to do to my okaa-san." Botan glanced at Koenma, then nodded.

"Come on. Let's go."

Shippou was not the type to sit around and wait patiently for his okaa-san to get back safely. He was the type who went into hyper mode due to worry. He got most of his homework done, and started pacing around his room. A lot. He swore he was starting to wear ruts into the wood. When he finally caught Kagome's scent, he perked up, and dashed out the front door.

"Shippou, what-" his baa-chan asked, startled as he rushed past her.

"Okaa-san's back, Baa-chan!" he called as he darted out the door, and towards his mother, who was standing by the Goshinboku. The first thing he noticed was the new scent. Someone else was with his okaa-san, and from the smell of it, it was a youkai. Kagome turned, and he saw something cradled in her arms. She smiled at him.

"Shippou? There's someone I'd like you to meet." Shippou darted forward to peer over her shoulder, and saw a little pup with reddish brown hair, blinking sleepy dark golden eyes up at him. He stared at the pup, a bit surprised, then at his okaa-san. "Shippou, this is Hikari. Hikari, this is Shippou, he's my kit." The pup, Hikari, blinked up at Shippou, then away, blushing and hiding her face in Kagome's shoulder. Shippou could not help but grin. He found her actions too kawaii to do other wise. He glanced at Kagome.

"Okaa-san, why's she here? I don't mind, but…." Kagome murmured softly, so only Shippou could hear.

"Hikari's parents, who were coyote youkai, by the way, were killed by a snail youkai. She was taken as a hostage. We finished off the snail as our job today, and managed to find her. Apparently, one of my teammates has a Jagan eye. It made finding her a lot easier. At any rate, she doesn't have any other family, and another coyote clan won't adopt her soo…." Shippou snickered.

"So I have a little sister now, huh?" He paused for a moment, letting the thought sink through him. A slow grin spread across his face. "SWEET!!" He yelled, and Kagome laughed as he started to ask rapid fire questions, and bounce slightly on the balls of his feet. "Can I be an irritating, over-protective onii-chan who spoils her rotten, can I can I can I?"

"Well, I'd rather you didn't spoil her rotten, but other than that……. Go ahead." Shippou cheered, and a very startled looking Hikari looked from Shippou to Kagome and back. She tugged on Kagome's sleeve, and the teenage girl looked down at her.

"Yes, Hikari?"

"Are you going to be my okaa-san now?" Kagome smiled.

"Only if you want me to be." She assured the little coyote youkai.

"Ok... If you're going to be my okaa-san, does that mean he's my onii-chan?"

"That's right! But only if you like Okaa-san. You don't have to make any big decisions right now." Shippou said, happily reassuring her. "C'mon! You need to meet Baa-chan and Souta-ojii-chan. Later you can meet Jii-chan too, but he's busy just now." Hikari giggled, and held out her arms to Shippou, who picked her up, and smiling mischievously, set her on his shoulders. The little youkai squealed with delight, and clung to Shippou's hands as he walked up to the shrine. Kagome followed, smiling at the sight of her son and her daughter together. Her family was growing again.

-- - - - -- - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- -- - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I finally updated again! Sorry for making you guys wait so long!  
So, Kagome's picked up another kid. Why did I have her do this? Because I think small children are fun to write about! Besides, I want some of the tantei to wonder if she has connections with youkai, and even more importantly, I wanted to give Shippou a little sister to spoil rotten. You know he would.

Oh, the dictionary:  
Okaa-san- mother  
youkai- demon  
ningen- human  
reigan- spirit gun  
youki- demonic energy  
kitsune- fox  
inu-dog  
ookami- wolf  
Baa-chan- grandmother  
kawaii- cute  
Onii-chan- older brother  
-ojii-chan- uncle (e.g. Souta-ojii-chan is Uncle Souta)  
Jii-chan- grandfather


	8. Guys vs Girl

I still don't own InuYasha, or Yu Yu Hakusho. It would be amazing if I did, because then I wouldn't have to freak about getting a B in physics jeopardizing various scholarships that I reeeeeeeeeeeally need to go to college... But alas, I have to...

-- - -- - - -- - - – - - - - - — - - - -- – - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After a couple of weeks, Hikari showed herself to be a happy, bouncy pup, who liked to stick her nose into everything. She adored sitting on top of Shippou's shoulders, and holding onto Kagome's shoulders. It did not take her very long at all to slip into calling Kagome "Okaa-san" and Shippo "Onii-chan". The little family was functioning quite well, even though Hikari was still waking up at night with nightmares.

-- -- - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kurama could not get the scene with Kagome and Hikari out of his head. He had never gotten to ask Kagome who had taught her how to handle youkai children, and it was driving him crazy. Or rather, it was making Youko want as much information as possible on the girl in order to figure out the intriguing puzzle, and driving Kurama crazy to maintain control over the obsessive kitsune. Kurama supposed it was a good question, but he somehow doubted that Kagome would appreciate it if he hacked into her school's computer system and read their files on her, and something told him that having Kagome mad at him would not be the best thing in the world. Kurama shook his head to clear it, and tried to focus on what his teacher was saying. He would have to ask Botan or Koenma where she lived, so he could track her down and ask her his questions.

After school, Kurama started to head home, but was waylaid by Yusuke, with an invitation to go train at Genkai's. Kurama had nothing better to do, so he agreed. When they arrived at the shrine, they were surprised to see that they would not be alone. Kagome was there, working on her own training. Genkai was more than happy to see them. An evil light filled her eyes.

"Good. You two could use some experience against a miko, and Kagome's finally gotten to the point where she has enough control over her power that she won't accidentally kill either of you." The two boys choked.

"Kill us?" Yusuke asked, looking vaguely horrified.

"You would probably be alright, now that I think of it, Yusuke. Miko power doesn't have a great deal of effect on ningen." Genkai amended. Yusuke looked somewhat comforted, then went back to being irritating.

"Keh. She can't be that good." Genkai smiled sadistically.

"You'd be surprised. Come on." They walked into the dojo and found Kagome sitting and meditating.

"Kagome!" Genkai called sharply. Kagome's eyes snapped open, and saw the boys. Hastily, she got to her feet, hanging her head slightly.

"Sorry… Oh, hey Yusuke, hey Kurama. What are you two doing here?"

"Keh. Genkai's my master. Kurama's just here to spar. What are you doing here?" Yusuke snapped. Kagome smiled slightly.

"Genkai -sensei's training me, too. She's the only person Koenma could dig up who had any idea how to train a miko."

Kurama was startled.

"You've learned how to send out that much power in a few days?" He asked, surprised. Kagome blushed.

"Actually….. That was default setting. Most of what I'm working on is toning it down a little. I don't always want to kill people, after all….." Yusuke choked, then steadied himself.

"Keh. Let's fight." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Oh, Genkai, do I need to use blunt arrows? Or can I use mine?" Genkai shrugged.

"We have two healers on call. As long as you don't kill them, I think you can use your own arrows." Kagome smiled.

"Great! Well, I'm ready when you two are!" She said, bending down to scoop up her bow. Yusuke grinned, and began to charge his reigan. Kurama reluctantly got out his rose whip. Yusuke shot, planning to end the fight pretty quickly. Very calmly, Kagome held up a hand, and setting up a barrier as she did. Yusuke's reigan blast met the shield, and reflected back at the two boys. Yusuke ducked just in time, and stared at her for a moment, then tried again. Same effect.

"What the Hell?!" Yusuke yelled as he dodged again. Kagome smiled.

"Don't you like my barrier?" She asked sweetly, and knocked an arrow. She shot, pulling back a huge amount of her power, trying to ensure that no one got incinerated, but still wanting to do some damage. Yusuke staggered once the arrow hit him. Growling, he pulled out the arrow, and started circling her, as Kurama was doing.

_**Our those whip isn't going to be able to get through that barrier… **_Youko told Kurama unhappily.

_I was coming to that conclusion myself_, Kurama agreed.

Suddenly, Kagome let down her barrier. The boys stared, and she grinned.

"Its not exactly a fair tight if I've got a barrier up, now is it?" She said with a laugh. Kurama smiled, and launched an attack with his whip. Kagome jumped to the side, and shot another arrow, which Kurama dodged by an inch.

"Not bad," He said, as Yusuke tried the reigan attack again, and Kagome dodged.

"You're going to have to do better than that to hit me." She informed Yusuke dryly as he cursed. "Believe me, dodging is something of a specialty of mine." Kurama tried the whip again, and once again, he missed. "Especially whips. I used to spar a lot with someone who used a whip. And yours," She said, then paused and shot an arrow, not at Kurama, but at the rose whip.

_**Move the whip, NOW!! **_ Youko yelled at him, a few seconds too late. A pink glow raced down the rose whip, purifying the youki within it, leaving it an ordinary rose. Kagome grinned.

"Is a lot wider than his. Making it much easier to purify." Kurama gaped at her for a moment, then smiled in a vaguely sadistic manner, and began reaching for his seeds. Meanwhile, Yusuke had snuck up behind her, and got ready to land a punch. Kagome darted away with a smile.

"Trust me, Yusuke, I'm very good at dodging fairly straight forward physical attacks. You're going to have to be a bit more creative than that." She taunted.

"Does this suit the requirements of creativity, Kagome-san?" Kurama asked, having planted several seeds around her, and urged them to grow. Huge vines began wrapping around her legs, locking her in place.

Kagome froze as she felt her legs being snared by Kurama's plants. The sensation sent her mind spiraling back to the last battle, when she had been captured in the same manner by Naraku's tentacles during an attempt to grab the shikon no tama shards he possessed.

_I seem to have captured a nosy little miko. What shall I do with her…. I could make her watch as I kill her friends… let's start with the little kitsune…._

She reacted in the same, panic stricken way: a flare of strong, uncontrolled purifying power, sent out wildly in all directions.

When the plants withered due to lack of yuki to sustain them, she tumbled to her knees, panting. Then she jerked her head up, realizing what she had just done. Praying that she was not too late, she lifted her hand, and set a shield around the boys.

-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - – - - - - - - - - -

Kurama had not expected this to happen. Normally, he would have guessed that the plants would have thrown her a loop, resulting in either her giving up, which he rather hoped would not be the case, or her coming up with a solution. He had not expected the pure panic he saw in her eyes as she realized she was caught, let alone the raw power that she instinctively shot out in all directions.

_Oh. Shit_. He thought to himself and Youko as his plants withered due to lack of youki.

_**You can say that again….. **_ Youko muttered in agreement, eyeing the rapidly approaching purifying energy. _**It's a very, very good thing we are on the other side of the room and have some time….. **_Kagome tumbled forward, catching herself, and panting. She seemed to come to herself after a moment, and jerked her head up. Kurama could tell by the horror in her eyes that she had realized what she had done, and had not planned it. That was comforting. At least she was not trying to kill him and Yusuke. One of her hands flew up, and a barrier was erected in front of him, and the other tantei who had come to stand next to him. Her timing was excellent. The purifying energy slammed into the wall a second later, only to be turned back. Once it had faded, Kagome let down the barrier, got to her feet, and ducked her head so that her bangs covered her eyes.

"Soumimasen. I didn't mean for that to happen. I just… lost control. It always happens when someone does that." She whispered. She picked up her bow, and turned to Genkai. "Is that enough for today, or do I need to work on something else?" She asked politely. Genkai raised an eyebrow.

"How about Yusuke's shoulder? Your arrow did cause some damage. It would be polite to heal it for him." Kagome blushed.

"Oh, yes, of course. Here, let me help, Yusuke. Consider it an apology for nearly incinerating you." She walked over to the young tantei, who was eyeing her warily, and with a new respect. He knelt down slowly so she could take a better look at his shoulder. Kagome looked at the injury through the rip in his shirt, and winced. "That must hurt a bit…" She murmured, her fingers grazing over the wound. Kurama noticed Yusuke's jaw tighten, and smiled. As usual, the young tantei was refusing to admit he was in pain. Kagome bit her lip gently as she inspected the damage. "I don't think you'll need stitches. That's good; it means the wound was neat, and you didn't make it worse when you pulled the arrow out. I'll just purify the wound to cauterize it, ensure no bacteria got in and speed the healing process, then wrap it. I wouldn't recommend lifting anything heavy with that arm for a day or two, but other than that, it should be fine. If it does get worse, let me know; it'll mean I was wrong, and I'll have to stitch it up." Kagome got up, and rummaged around in a back pack by the door, until she pulled out a first aid kit. She opened the kit, and retrieved a small pair of scissors, some spray on adhesive, and bandages. Very calmly she walked back to Yusuke. "Shirt off." She instructed calmly. Yusuke stared at her.

"What?" Kagome glared.

"I said, 'shirt off'. I want to bandage you, not your shirt." She snapped. Yusuke looked startled, then took the shirt off, and muttered.

"Keiko had better not hear about this, Kurama." Kurama grinned. He had wondered if that was Yusuke's problem. Kagome giggled slightly as she placed her hand, which was glowing a pale pink color, on the arrow wound. Yusuke yelled.

"Hey! Watch it! That stings!"

"Good. That means it's working." Kagome informed him, unrepentant. "It also means that your shoulder should be going numb right about... now. It'll stay that way until the shoulder heals, so you won't have to get any painkillers." Kagome removed her hand, and made quick work of bandaging the shoulder. "That should do it! Try not to open it up again. It'd be more trouble than it's worth." Yusuke stared at his shoulder, then at Kagome, then back at his shoulder.

"How did you do that so fast?!" Yusuke yelled as Kagome repacked her first aid kit. The milksop rolled her eyes.

"Practice, Yusuke. lots and lots of practice." She turned to Genkai. "Is there anything else I need to do, Genkai-sensei?" Genkai shook her head.

"Practice your channeling without arrows when you get home." She instructed. Kagome nodded, and picked up her bag to get ready to leave.

_**Ask her if we can take her home, Kurama!**_ Youko said eagerly.

_Should we? _Kurama asked, uncertain.

_**Yes! She's pretty, a puzzle, and we both find her intriguing! This is an opportunity to get her alone! **_Youko nearly shrieked.

_Alright, alright!_

"Kagome-san, could I walk you home?" Kagome froze, then blushed slightly.

"Well... I live on the other side of Tokyo. I don't want to be a burden…" Kurama smiled at her.

"Not at all, Kagome-san. I'd like to." Kagome bit her lip, a gesture Kurama took as a fit of nerves.

"If you're sure you don't mind…. Alright." She answered, sounding as uncertain as Kurama had felt about asking her. Kurama grinned, and escorted Kagome out of the room, elation flooding through him at the idea of getting the miko all to himself for a while.

-- -- - - -- -- - - - - - - -- - - - -- -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - – - - - -

I've updated _much _earlier than I had dreamed possible! You should all be very proud of me!

At any rate, I've been asked by a couple people what the pairing for this story is. Here, for all future reference, is the very blunt and to the point answer: I have no idea. You see, _A Long Awaited Meeting_ started out as a one-shot, just the first chapter, with the possibility of _maybe_ becoming a collection of one-shots. Then, people started telling me that it would make a really good story, and I should continue it. So I did. The side effect? While I _think_ I have a good plan of what the general plot line is, little details such as pairings, how event x gets to even y, etc., are, for lack of a better term, unknown. Read: I'm flying blind. I have no clue. It's entirely possible that Kagome will decide she's not over InuYasha and stay away from boys for a while. However, it's equally possible that she'll end up dating one of the tantei. It's all up in the air at this point.

It seems that Youko has found a puzzle in Kagome. I hope she's prepared to handle something of a stalker...


	9. Homeward Bound

If you are silly enough to honestly believe that I own InuYasha and Yu Yu Hakusho, you are also silly enough to be deemed certifiable, and I sincerely hope that your family and friends put you in a very nice asylum, with lots of cushions and friendly nurses!

—-- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

"So, you live on the east side of Tokyo?" Kurama asked as he and Kagome got on her bus.

"Mmmhmm," She said absently, glancing out the window out of habit, before reminding herself for the millionth time that she did not have to worry about InuYasha being a stalker anymore. She shook herself, then turned back to Kurama, who had clearly just said something and was waiting for her reply. She blushed slightly. "Gomen nasai; I'm always a bit spacy on my way home from training, what was that?" Kurama smiled.

"I asked which shrine you lived on. I didn't think any of the shrines on the east side were large enough to support a house for the caretaker and his family." Kagome shrugged.

"Most of them aren't. As far as I know, ours is the only one. It's not as large as Genkai's place, but we've still got a decent amount of land." Because Shippou made sure we wouldn't have to worry about it… "I live on the Higurashi shrine." Kurama shook his head.

"Never heard of it. That's surprising; I know most of the old shrines, and it would have to be old in order for it to have that much space…."

_**What do you mean, **_**I**_**? You don't know the old shrines, I do! And I know them because they were around in my day, and full of interesting things to steal!**_ Youko muttered darkly to his counterpart.

_Yes, Youko, I know. But since I don't believe anyone has explained that to Kagome…._ Kurama pointed out patiently

_**Oh. Right. Forgot about that…. **_Kurama's attention refocused on Kagome as she laughed.

"Higurashi shrine is the newer version of the name, from when one of my ancestors decided to make the shrine honor his family more than anything else. If you know the old names, try 'Goshinboku no Ichidou'." Kurama choked, surprised.

"You live on the Goshinboku no Ichidou?"

"Yep. What, is that a problem, or something? Does your family have some sort of blood feud with my shrine that I ought to know about?" Kagome asked with a laugh, which Kurama joined.

"No, not at all! It's just that the place is very important in youkai history. Or at least, the tree is. We could care less about the shrine. No offense." Kagome laughed.

"None taken. So, I was right; you are some sort of youkai." Kurama stiffened.

"How-" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"'_We_ could care less about the shrine.' Only reason you would say that be if you were a youkai, or something." Kurama sighed and nodded.

"You'd think I'd have remembered that. Yes, I am part youkai; I'm an avatar for a kitsune youkai named Youko Kurama." Kagome smiled.

"I see. A kitsune. Remind me to be careful around you; I don't want any kitsune pranks played on me, thanks."

_**She knows something about kitsune!**_ Youko said gleefully.

_Yes, Youko, she does. Probably because she lives on a shrine. _Now hush. Kurama grinned at her.

"I'll try to remind you. Unless, of course, I'm getting ready to play a prank on you." Kagome threw up her hands in disgust.

"Do you kitsune think of nothing else?" Youko began a slow fight to control what he and Kurama would say next, when Kagome suddenly spoke again. "Actually, don't answer that. I already know."

_**Clever girl**_. Youko told Kurama with a grin. _**She figured out what we would say, and was quick enough to stop us. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she had experience with kitsune. Kurama sighed.**_

"That's probably a very good idea, Kagome-san. Youko was all for giving an answer I doubt you'd appreciate. At any rate, your father's the caretaker of the shrine where you live?" Kagome's eyes darkened.

"No. My grandfather is. My father died when I was seven." Kurama winced.

_**Great going, you baka!**_ Youko snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happened years ago, and it wasn't like you knew about it." Kagome reassured him.

"So, your grandfather is the caretaker?" Kagome nodded.

"Mm. Has been for as long as I can remember. He's absolutely obsessive about old stories, and other…. Well, let's just say Okaa-san and I make good and certain he keeps his relics out of the kitchen." She shuddered. Kurama looked at her with curiosity gleaming through his eyes.

"Why?"

"Let me put it to you this way: He always gives Souta, my little brother, and I relics for our birthday. When I turned 15, he gave me a mummified mizu youkai hand. And that was one of the better ones!" Kurama stared.

"A mummified youkai hand?"

"That's right."

"Not meaning to be rude, but why on Earth would anyone want a mummified youkai hand?" He asked, trying to process this. Kagome laughed.

"Considering the fact that I gave it to my cat, and she didn't want it either, I would have to say that no one actually wants one except my grandfather, and a few of his crazy priest friends."

"Remind me to avoid him..."

"It shouldn't be a problem. Besides, if I forget, I'm pretty sure the ineffective sutra being thrown at you, along with a shriek of 'Youkai begone!' would work just as well." She assured him with a straight face. Kurama just stared.

"He actually does that?"

"All the time." she assured him. "I only just got him to leave Hikari and Shippou alone."

"Who's Shippou?" Kurama asked, shoving down Youko's irritation at a rival, which rose upon seeing Kagome's smile at the thought of this other person.

"Shippou is my cousin. He and I are really close. Right now, he's staying with us while his parents are out of the country."

_See, Youko? He's her cousin. He's not a rival. Just calm down._

_**He's a rival in youkai terms**_**.** Youko muttered sullenly.

_Yes, but Shippou and Kagome are human. So don't go trying to kill him. If nothing else, it would upset Kagome. _A hand flashed in front of Kurama's eyes. He jumped, and Kagome laughed.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's spacey. At any rate, this is my stop. Come on." Kurama grinned a bit sheepishly, and the two got off the bus. As soon as they were off, Kagome turned left, and started for the shrine. They passed most of the walk in a companionable silence, and stopped at the base of a ridiculously long flight of stairs that Kurama guessed lead to her shrine.

"Well, I don't think you want to climb up all the stairs, just to have to go down them again in a few minutes, so…" A small ball of warmth crashed into Kagome, screaming

"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" Kagome laughed as Hikari wormed her way onto her right shoulder.

"Hello, Hikari. Have you been keeping Onii-chan out of trouble while I've been at training?" Hikari giggled.

"Hai, Okaa-san! We're playing hide and seek!" Kagome nodded.

"That's a very good game to play to keep him out of trouble. You know he won't stop looking until he's found you." Hikari nodded gleefully, then caught sight of Kurama. She squeaked, and hid in Kagome's hair. The older girl stroked Hikari's hair soothingly. "It's alright, sweetheart, this is Kurama. He was there when we took you away from the snail, remember?" Cautiously, Hikari left her hiding place to look at Kurama. After staring at him for a moment, she smiled shyly at him. Kurama could not help but smile back.

_**She's a cute pup. Kagome's been doing a good job with her. I wonder who this 'Onii-chan' they keep talking about is. **_

_Her cousin, maybe?_

_**Maybe….**__._ Suddenly, a tall, red haired young man was standing behind Kagome and wrapping his arms around Kagome.

"You're back, O-Kagome-chan!" He said cheerfully, and started swinging her around in circles. Kagome laughed, and Hikari shrieked with glee.

"More, Onii-chan! More!" She squealed once the boy had set Kagome down.

"How about you ask Onii-chan if he'll spin you some more after I introduce him to Kurama, Hikari?" The little Coyote youkai pouted, but agreed. Kagome turned back to Kurama, who was struggling to repress an extremely ticked off Youko.

_We are not going to try to attack this guy who is friendly with Kagome and Hikari. It would be a very bad idea!_

_**But she's **_**ours! ** Youko snarled.

_Did she ever say that?_ Kurama asked dryly.

_**Well….**_

_I didn't think so._

"Kurama, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Higurashi Shippou. As you can tell, Hikari calls him Onii-chan." Shippou and Kurama eyed each other warily for a moment then shook hands. Two sets of eyes widened upon contact.

"YOU'RE A YOUKAI!!" both yelled at the same time. Kagome giggled.

"I was wondering if you'd pick up on that…." she murmured, trying to hide a smile. Shippou smiled at Kagome.

"Kagome-chan, can I speak to…Kurama, is it? privately for a moment. I'll be at the house before you know it." Kagome's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why?" Shippou looked away from her eyes.

"Just… need to clear a few things up." Kagome's eyes narrowed even further, then she leaned forward and mumbled something in Shippou's ear, of which Kurama caught portions.

"If you start acting like……. when ……………, I am not going to be happy." Shippou gulped, and nodded.

"Of course not, Kagome-chan! I wouldn't do that!"

"Suuuuuuuuuure you wouldn't." She muttered. "Come on, Hikari, let's go see Baa-chan."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaay! Baa-chan!!" Hikari squealed delightedly "And Souta-ojii-san and Jii-chan?"

"Mm!" Kagome turned and started to climb the stairs, turning back so she and Hikari could wave good-bye.

"Bye Kurama! Thanks for walking me home!" Kurama smiled.

"My pleasure." Kagome smiled then continued onwards up the stairs. Shippou watched them carefully, waiting for them to get out of earshot. Then he turned and glared at Kurama.

"Right. Let's get this straight, avatar: You hurt Kagome, and you'll have to deal with me. I'd rather you weren't around her at all, but I learned from watching someone else how very badly trying to control Kagome-chan works out." Kurama glared back, and Youko surged forward, flooding their usually emerald irises with gold.

"Don't mess with me,_ kid_. You're nothing more than a child; you don't know what you're doing."

"Don't I though? I know you're interested in her. And I know you're a kitsune soul, and there's no way in Hell I'm letting someone just seduce her and leave her like trash!" Shippou snarled back. Kurama growled, baring fangs.

"Isn't that what _you_ want, kid? She's just a human, after all, and you're pure youkai." Red flooded Shippou's eyes, shining through his illusion spell, and startling Kurama. He had not been expecting a violent reaction from the kid, but he had apparently crossed some line in the younger youkai's mind, and he had snapped. Fortunately for both of them, Shippou had a decent amount of control over himself, even like this.

"You have _no_ idea what I want, avatar. None. You could not be more wrong." Shippou closed his eyes for a long moment, breathing slowly and deeply. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were their normal green color. "Look, today I was offering a warning. If you mess with her, I will act. If you hurt her badly enough, I will be the _least_ of your worries, and believe me, I _can_ make you suffer." Kurama looked at him, as if measuring him up.

"I have no intention of hurting her, if that's what you're worried about." He said slowly. Shippou nodded curtly.

"Then we stand a chance of getting along. As long as you live up to that, at any rate." He said coolly, and turned to run up the steps to the shrine, leaving Kurama glaring in his wake.

— -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

So, Kagome finds out Kurama's a kitsune avatar, and Shippou is NOT happy. Not at all. Neither is Kurama, really. Things could get messy, there...

youkai- demon

kitsune- fox

mm- yeah

onii-chan- older brother

okaa-san- mother

-ojii-san- suffix meaning uncle (e.g. Souta-ojii-san means Uncle Souta)

jii-chan- grandfather

baa-chan- grandmother

Goshinboku no Ichidou- Shrine of the Goshinboku

baka- idiot


	10. Memory

I do not own _InuYasha_ or _YuYu Hakusho_. If I owned even one of these, my life would be significantly easier in the essay writing department, not to mention the fact that I would not have to worry about paying for my room and board at college...

– -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

The next few months passed relatively quietly for the Reikai tantei, including their newest member. After sparring with Kagome, Yusuke no longer called her dead weight, or tried to keep her from coming on missions. Kuwabara continued to stare at her adoringly, making her want to edge away and hide behind Kurama. In fact, she actually did hide behind Kurama on a few occasions, when it got to be too extreme. It was a system that worked well for everyone, except Kuwabara, who received a Youko-Glare-of-Death™ each time for a minimum of five minutes, which was never a pleasant experience. Kurama was still sticking close to Kagome, and was therefore delighted to have an excuse to be around her without Shippou. Hiei's was the only one who muttered darkly about Kagome, although the others were relatively certain that had more to do with the fact that Kagome purified everything around her, which meant his Jagan could not work on her than with actual dislike of the girl. Thus, Kagome passed the time over those months quietly, training to hone her powers, relaxing with her children, and going on the occasional mission for the Reikai.

Then, everything changed abruptly.

– -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

Kagome was thanking kami that today, her birthday, was on a Saturday this year, and she did not have to call in sick at school, like she had last year. The entire morning, she had been sitting in the Goshinboku, despite Shippou's protests, remembering the events of that had taken place there three years ago. Or, at least, three years ago in her sick, time-travel warped sense of time. To everyone else, they had taken place 466 years ago. It had not taken her long to start crying, although she was so lost in memories that she did not notice it until Hikari clambered up next to her and started nuzzling her cheek, saying

"Please don't cry, Okaa-san! Please! Why are you sad? Did I do something wrong? Please stop crying!" over and over, in a desperate pleading tone of voice. Kagome tried, but only succeeded in suppressing her sobs. Tears were still trickling down her face. Shippou and Kirara joined them, the former wrapping an arm around his okaa-san and imotou-chan, while the latter jumped onto Kagome's unoccupied shoulder, and started licking away her tears, and purring.

"Okaa-san's crying because she's remembering someone who died, imotou-chan." Shippou explained quietly. "She loved him very much, and she hasn't forgotten him. Today was the day they met, right here at the Goshinboku." Hikari's eyes widened, and she hugged her mother frantically.

"I'm so sorry, Okaa-san! Would it help to talk about him? I want to know about him… if that's ok…."

"I don't think…." Shippou began but Kagome shook her head.

"No, it's probably a good idea. I need to talk about him; I haven't since I found out what happened…" Kagome smiled at her little girl. "Are you ready to hear a story, Hikari-chan?" Hikari nodded eagerly, and Kagome took a deep breath, and began. "Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived at a shrine with her mother, grandfather, little brother, and her cat….."

Kagome told her coyote youkai daughter everything, from the moment she had met the irritating, brash, lonely hanyou who had quickly captured her heart, right until the group began to collect allies. There she stopped for a moment.

"What happened, Okaa-san?" Hikari whispered, eyes wider than ever, as her mother broke off in the midst of a sentence. Kagome smiled.

"We began collecting allies. Kouga-kun and Ayame-chan agreed to help out, as well as Ginta and Hakaku. Kaede began traveling with us, to offer her support, and make sure I got trained. Kikyou traveled with us for a while… but then she tried to kill me again, and everyone except InuYasha and I decided enough was enough, and told us that she'd have to face the consequences of her actions. She didn't stand a chance against the two people they chose to go after her; after all, it's not easy for a miko to beat a taijiya and a houshii, even when they aren't sick and tired of her coming and hurting a friend." Kagome sighed. "I must admit, even if I'm not sure I liked the idea of killing Kikyou, having Sango and Miroku to do the job was a brilliant idea. Miroku made sure she didn't set up a barrier, and Sango went in with hirakotsu. At any rate, once Kikyou died, I had my full soul again. InuYasha got over it as well, eventually. After Kikyou died, we picked up Jinenji and Shiori, and much to our surprise, Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken. I found that it became my job to keep InuYasha and Sesshoumaru apart, because relations were still extremely tense between the two of them. Rin followed me around like a puppy, though, and Shippou here got to be very attached to her too." Hikari giggled as a blush spread across Shippou's face.

"Does Onii-chan like Rin-san?" she asked, watching her brother get even redder. Kagome smirked.

"Oh, yes. I'd say he does." Hikari giggled and Shippou pointed at Kagome, looking extremely flustered.

"You can't talk! You liked InuYasha!" Kagome's smirk deepened.

"And I say so quite openly! As it is, you refuse to admit it, making yourself a prime target for mockery." Kagome

told her hapless son as her daughter giggled, already planning ways to mock her onii-chan. Shippou put his head in his hands.

"I'm doomed, aren't I?" Kagome giggled.

"Absolutely. At any rate, after Sesshoumaru and crew joined us, we started training together. Everyone picked

things during that time, tricks that would help beat Naraku in the end. Eventually, we caught up with him, and attacked. I snuck up on him to get the Shikon shards he was carrying, but got caught. I wound up frantically blasting a huge area with a purifying blast when I panicked. I managed to get away, and InuYasha and I got rid of him by combining one of my arrows with his Bahakuryuuha. After that… well, all we really had to handle was clean up duty. I took the shards Naraku had collected, and added them to mine, and recompleted the Shikon no Tama. After days later, I went home to visit my family... but I couldn't go back. the well had sealed itself." Shippou could feel the waves of depression radiating off his mother, and whined softly. She smiled at him gently, and ran her fingers through his hair. "Your onii-chan waited 465 years to find me again, along with Kirara Everyone else on our original group of six... is dead." Hikari's eyes widened.

"Even InuYasha?"

"Even InuYasha. He was killed on King Enma's orders when he refused to go into the Makai." Hikari could see her okaa-san tearing up again, and did the only thing she could think of to stop it. She hugged her frantically.

"But Onii-chan and I are here now, Okaa-san! We won't leave you alone again!" Kagome smiled.

"The kid's right, Okaa-san. I waited 465 years for you to show up again, and you can bet that you're not getting rid

of me now…" Shippou added as his mother giggled

"Thank you, Hikari, Shippou. It means a lot to me." They sat in silence, Shippou's arm around Kagome's shoulders,

while she stroked his hair, and held Hikari in her lap, happy just to be together and mend old wounds. Then, out of no where, a shout pierced the air.

"Oi! Onee-chan! You've got company!" The family was startled out of their reverie, by Souta's report.

"Send them back here, Otouto! It's more trouble than it's worth to get down…" Five people stepped onto the

shrine grounds: the Reikai tantei, and Botan.

"Good afternoon, Kagome-san! Can we borrow you for a-"

"YOU'RE A YOUKAI!!" Three voices yelled at Shippou, who sighed and covered his face with his hand. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Shippou's a youkai. I know. Leave him alone. So, Botan, is there a mission or something that I should know about?"

"Not exactly. You see, Koenma finally got around to doing some cleaning, and he found something he wants the tantei to take a look at. It won't take very long." Kagome sighed.

"Can't even get my birthday off. Sure, no problem, I can come look at… whatever it is." She turned to Shippou.

"Watch Hikari for me?" Shippou grinned.

"Sure. Need a ride down?" Kagome laughed.

"Probably. Even if we are on one of the lowest branches…." Shippou grinned evilly, and grabbed his okaa-san by

the waist.

"Hold on tight, Hikari!" he called to his little sister, and neatly leapt down from the tree. Hikari squealed with

delight. Kagome smiled, and handed her to Shippou after they landed.

"Watch Onii-chan for me, Hikari! I'll be back soon." Hikari nodded seriously.

"Kk, Okaa-san! Bye-bye!" She waved from her place on Shippou's shoulders. Kagome smiled and waved back,

before departing through the portal Botan had made for them.

"Hello, boys! And… girl." Koenma said cheerily from behind his desk.

"So what's up, Toddler?" Yusuke demanded. "It's not a mission, or at least, that's what Botan told us."

"No, it isn't! We found an old relic of the time before the barrier, and wanted to see if anyone… responded to it."

Koenma shuffled some papers around on his desk, until he found what he sought. It was a rusty sword, that looked like it had seen better days. Yusuke and Hiei looked from the sword to Koenma and back again.

"You have got to be kidding me." Yusuke said bluntly.

"No, I'm not." Koenma snapped, irritated.

"Can't you feel the power coming off it, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked, stunned by the intensity of the youki.

"Indeed. It may not look like much, but it has great power." Kurama agreed. Kagome's eyes had not left the sword since Koenma had first revealed it. She could tell them exactly how much power that sword held; she had certainly seen its Kaze no Kizu attack often enough, not to mention the Bahakuryuuha. She wanted to ask how Koenma had gotten his hands on Tetsuaiga; something told her she wouldn't be too happy with his answer. Instead she absently answered the question every boy was thinking in his head.

"Of course there's great power radiating off it; that's a youkai blade." Five heads snapped around to face her.

"A what?" Yusuke asked, incredulous.

"A youkai blade. You know, a sword forged by a youkai sword smith, probably with the use of some youkai body part so that it retained the powers of the youkai. They were fairly common, but valuable; I know of a couple that were family heirlooms of sorts." _One of which is the sword sitting on the table in front of us. If InuYasha knew that it was here… Forget InuYasha, if _Sesshoumaru _knew that one of his father's blades was here, free for the taking….._

"Where did you learn about this, Kagome-san?" Kurama asked politely. Kagome blushed, and thought fast.

"Oh, I, uh, read about them in a scroll I found at the shrine. The shrine's history is associated with a youkai who had one." _Well, technically, he was a hanyou, not a full-fledged youkai, buuuut….. _Everyone seemed to accept this answer, although Koenma looked at her suspiciously.

"Well, then Kagome, do you know why the thing doesn't look more, I don't know…" Koenma floundered, and Kagome's eyebrows raised.

"Impressive?" Koenma nodded. "It could be one of the ones that transforms in the hands of its true owner… or under certain circumstances. Those were generally some of the more powerful ones; they didn't look like much so that no one would try to steal them." Kagome said with a shrug, eyes still not leaving the Tetsuaiga. The blade was triggering memories again, and it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to burst into tears. She took a deep breath, and continued. "At any rate, only a youkai or hanyou would be able to use it; youkai blades depend on the youki of their wielders. So, that means Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I are definitely out of the running. Kurama is probably a candidate, and Hiei certainly is. Ummmm… if that's all, can I go home?" Koenma looked at Botan, shrugged, and nodded. The Grim Reaper smiled, and opened a portal for her. Kagome smiled back, then darted through the portal. Once on the other side, Kagome burst into tears. Instantly, Shippou and Hikari were at her side.

"Okaa-san, you're back early-- Okaa-san? Okaa-san! Okaa-san, what's wrong?" Shippou asked frantically.

Kagome shook her head, and started to cry into his shoulder. Hikari took up a post on Kagome's shoulder and played with her hair in a desperate attempt to calm her. Shippou's eyes took on a flinty look when he discovered Kagome was not able to answer. Slowly he stepped away from his okaa-san and imouto-chan. Softly he murmured.

"Hey, Grim Reaper, Botan, or whatever your name is. If you can hear me, I want a word…"

– -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

Hiei and Kurama had taken turns trying the sword, neither with any success, after Kagome's departure. The tantei and the ruler of the Reikai were glaring at the blade.

"Can anyone use this thing?" Koenma muttered. Kurama shrugged.

"Kagome-san said that circumstances sometimes come into play…" he pointed out.

"Well, then, let's try some circum-"

"Koenma-sama, there's a messenger for you." Botan called from the door of the room.

"Well, tell him I'm busy!" Koenma snapped, then turned his attention back to the sword.

"Do you really want me to tell Rin-sama that you're busy? I don't think she, or her father would appreciate that."

Botan stated coolly. Koenma blanched, and Hiei and Kurama's eyes widened. Yusuke and Kuwabara just looked confused.

"Ah haha… yes! Let her in…. of course I'll speak with her…" Koenma said, sweating slightly.

"Who's Rin-sama?" Yusuke asked.

"Hn. She's the daughter of the most powerful youkai lord in the Makai. If he wanted to, he could probably destroy the Reikai." Hiei explained. Yusuke choked as a girl who appeared about their age with long black hair and brown eyes entered the office. She was dressed in an elegant kimono, with a dagger and a fan thrust into her obi in plain sight.

"Hello, Koenma. I'm sure Botan's told you I'm here as a messenger from my otou-sama."

"Ahhh, yes, Rin-sama…" The girl smiled slowly, reminding the tantei of a dog who has her prey cornered.

"I bring you his greetings, and the request that you…. explain certain…. inconsistencies between what you have been reporting to us, and what our best agent in the Ningenkai has smuggled through to us." Koenma gulped, and his sweating became more pronounced.

"Wh-what inconsistencies, Rin-sama?" Koenma stammered. The girl's expression turned icy cold.

"Otou-sama would like to know why Shippou tells us that his okaa-san has been born, and passed the point where time realigned itself, and yet… you strangely did not see fit to inform us of the fact." Koenma seemed to relax a bit.

"The Reikai was not aware of her presence. And furthermore, I see that there is a kitsune youkai that needs to be hunted down and sent to the Makai…." Rin's hand slammed against Koenma's desk as she glared furiously.

"Otou-sama is not stupid, Koenma! Shippou reported to us that you had made contact with my oba-sama, and that she made a deal with you to get permits for Shippou and Kirara! Do not trifle with him. You were witness to an agreement that took place 246 years ago, and we expect you to follow it!" Koenma jumped.

"Ah heheh, what agreement was that?" Rin's eyes narrowed to slits.

"The one where you agreed to tell us the moment you knew of her whereabouts, and allow us to interact with her unfettered by the rules of youkai-Ningenkai relations, in exchange for not destroying the Reikai in vengeance for my oji-sama's murder!" She hissed. "Did you think we had forgotten?" Koenma was clearly frantically searching for something to say, indicating to the tantei that he had clearly at least _hoped_ they had forgotten. Rin picked up on this. "You BAKA!! An inu-youkai pack never forgets one of its members! Both Shippou and oba-sama are members of our pack!" Koenma gulped.

"Ahh, yes, Rin-sama… of course! I'll just be giving you that location now…." Suddenly, Rin froze, her eyes locked on the youkai blade on the desk. She looked up at Koenma, her face totally blank.

"Where did you get the sword?" Koenma looked at her, clearly startled.

"What?"

"Where did you get the sword?" Koenma shifted a little uncomfortably.

"We, uh, appropriated it from a shrine around fifty years after the rise of the barrier. We didn't want a Ningen to be harmed by the youki radiating from it."

"So you stole it from a shrine, where it had probably been placed on purpose by its last wielder, without knowing what it was." Rin said, her face a study of contrived serenity.

"Well, yes…" Rin's eyes flashed. Suddenly, Botan popped her head into the office.

"Uhh, Koenma-sama? There's someone else to speak with you…." Kurama's eyes widened as Kagome's cousin shoved past Botan and into the office, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. His eyes were flickering between red and green, showing the internal battle going on behind them.

"What did you _do_?" He snarled at Koenma. The Reikai ruler straightened slightly, and placed a look of disdain into his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And even if I did, I don't tell things to children who hide behind illusions!" The young youkai glared at him, but closed his eyes and dropped his illusion. The tantei were stunned when two elegant fox tails suddenly appeared, along with fangs, and claws. Kurama thought he saw a trace fur at his feet, indicating that the young youkai in front of him had paws instead of humanoid feet. Then it hit him.

Kagome's cousin was a kitsune.

Well, that certainly explained how she knew so much about foxes….

– -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — -- — --

Looks like the cat is slowly but surely clawing its way out of the bag! Kagome's little secret is going to be told. Wonder how people will react...

At any rate, I got to make Hikari all kawaii!! This makes me happy, as does the ability to _finally _introduce Rin and Sesshoumaru. It seems that Sesshoumaru-sama is not happy with Koenma. That doesn't bode well for the toddler...

Oh, and the Youko-Glare-of-Death™ belongs to my dear friend, Roze010 of DeviantArt, who is also known as Youko-chan. She has a brilliant glare of death that I just HAD to use!

I also want to thank Chris Atola for correcting me on something last chapter. Apparently, I have been misusing Japanese honorifics. _Oji_ (with one i) means "uncle", while _Ojii_ (with two is, like I have been using) actually means "grandfather". Seeing as Souta is most certainly not Shippou and Hikari's grandfather, that's kind of important. I have fixed that mistake in this chapter, and I need to go and fix it in the previous ones...

**Japanese words used**

okaa-san- Mother

onii-chan- older brother

oji-sama- more respectable way of saying uncle; something like "my lord uncle"

otou-sama- more respectable way of say father; something like "my lord father"

-sama- my lord or my lady, so Koenma-sama means "my lord Koenma" and Rin-sama means "my lady Rin"

baka- idiot

imouto-chan- little sister

houshii- monk

taijiya- demon slayer

youkai- demon

youki-demonic energy

miko- white magic user, a Shinto priestess

ningen- human

Ningenkai- human world

Reikai- Spirit world

tantei- detective

Makai- demon world

Kaze no Kizu- scar of the wind, called Wind Scar

Bahakuryuuha- backlash wave


	11. In which Koenma receives many Insults

I do not own InuYasha. Nor do I own Yu Yu Hakusho. I wish I did, but alas, 'twas not meant to be. (Not that I'd say no if someone offered them to me as a present...)

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — —

Shippou glared at Koenma, his tails swishing back and forth.

"I've ditched the illusion now, Toddler. You have ten seconds to tell me why my okaa-san came home in tears, or, so help me, I will burn all of the paper work on your desk!" he snarled, and Koenma gasped.

"You wouldn't!" Shippou smiled coldly.

"Watch me." The tantei watched this exchange, stunned. Meanwhile, Rin burst into gales of laughter.

"You should know Shippou-kun's willing to do just about anything for his mother by now. After all, he managed to hide in the Ningenkai for over two centuries just to wait for her. Hello Shippou-kun. It's been a while." Shippou grinned mischievously, and scooped Rin up to swing her in a few circles.

"It's good to see you again, Rin-chan. How have you been?" Rin smiled.

"Other than missing your help in playing pranks on Master Jaken? Quite well. At any rate, you're wondering what upset Oba-chan, correct?" Shippou scowled and nodded. Rin's face also took on a rather poisonous glare. "Would this work as an explanation?" She snatched the sword off the desk, and showed it to Shippou. The kitsune looked at it for a moment, stunned, then snarled.

"That would do it." He turned to Koenma, his eyes slowly but surely coming to a stop on blood red. "So. You were the ones who raided the shrine after I moved out. I wondered." Shippou slammed his hand onto Koenma's desk. "So, let me get this straight. You dragged my okaa-san here, on what is probably the worst day of the year for her, and then you just wave the sword in her face. That certainly merits the incineration of some paper in my book. What do you think, Rin-chan?" Rin smiled sweetly.

"I'd have to say I agree with you. After all, it's really very cruel of him to wave InuYasha oji-sama's sword in front of oba-chan. Especially on the anniversary of when they met." Rin pulled out her fan. "Do you need a hand making sure that the fire stays strong?" Koenma choked.

"That's his sword?" He yelled. Rin and Shippou just stared at him. Finally Shippou spoke, as if to a very small child.

"Yes, Koenma. That would be why it was at the Goshinboku no Ichiru. You know, okaa-san's shrine?" Shippou rolled his eyes. "No wonder you just showed it to her! You had no clue that it was Tetsuaiga!" He threw up his hands in disgust. "Kami! If I'd known you were this incompetent, I wouldn't have bothered staying away from the shrine and hiding Kirara and myself so well! You obviously wouldn't have found us unless we were making trouble!" Koenma, Botan, Kurama, and Hiei's eyes widened.

"That thing is the Testuaiga? The sword that can take out a hundred demons in one swing?" Hiei asked, incredulous. Shippou grinned ferally, making his fangs prominent.

"Oh, yes. That's Tetsuaiga. It's much more impressive in the hands of its rightful owner, once he or she meets the necessary requirements." Rin nodded in agreement.

"The times I saw InuYasha-oji-sama wield that blade…. Trust me. The legends understate its power." The boys stared at her. "What?" She asked crossly. The boys gulped and turned to Shippou.

"Your mother hasn't been in here. We're the only ones who have seen the sword!" Kuwabara asserted stupidly.

"Actually, that's not true, Kuwabara. Kagome-san has also seen it." Botan corrected him gently.

"Well, yeah, but she's not your mother!" Kuwabara kept right on going. Shippou turned to Rin.

"Do you have any of that amnesia drug if okaa-san decides she doesn't like them knowing?" Rin nodded.

"Of course. Otou-sama never lets me out of the house without it. You mean…."

"Yeah, it was one of her conditions to joining the Reikai tantei. It wasn't like she was

jumping for the job, not after what they did to InuYasha….." Rin's face turned cold again.

"I can imagine. Kagome-oba-chan wouldn't be too happy about that." Kurama was the first one to catch it.

"Please excuse me, Rin-sama, I could have sworn you said that Kagome-san was your aunt. Wouldn't that make her…."

"My okaa-san? Yeah. Rin-chan says it because it's true. Kagome isn't my cousin. She never was. She's my okaa-san." Shippou said quietly. Kurama and Hiei stared at him.

"That's not possible." Hiei said flatly. "That girl is too young to be the mother of a several

centuries old full kitsune youkai kit."

"Not if she had access to a time portal." Koenma said softly. "Which Kagome-sama did." The boys turned to stare at Koenma.

"What are you talking about?" That was Yusuke. Koenma sighed.

"A time warp occurred in a well at Kagome-sama's shrine, which took her to the Sengoku Jidai period of Japan. She gained a great deal of fame there, before the warp was sealed. You, Kurama at least should have heard of her."

_**The only powerful female I know of from that period who wasn't a youkai was the Shikon no Tama no Miko, and somehow, I don't think that's her...**_

"Youko says the only powerful female he knows of was the Shikon no Tama no Miko, and that he doubts that's Kagome-san." Kurama reported. Shippou laughed.

"Got it in one. That's Okaa-san. She's still got the blasted thing- didn't you ever wonder what was up with always wearing that strand of prayer beads, and always having it tucked under her shirt?" The tantei blinked, slowly processing this information.

"What's the Shikon no Tama, anyway?" Yusuke asked. Shippou sighed.

"Other than a nuisance? It's a jewel that can grant wishes. In addition, it acts as a youki

booster. I knew a youkai who used two shards of it in his legs to make him as fast, if not faster than, the wind." Shippou smiled evilly. "Of course, he was all too happy to fork them over to Okaa-san, once they started becoming impure due to close proximity to Naraku." Rin rolled her eyes.

"I still say Kouga-san didn't do that to escape being controlled by Naraku, and really just wanted an excuse to have Kagome-oba-sama compare him with InuYasha-oji-sama." Shippou grinned.

"Naaah, if he wanted to do that, he would have waited until just after InuYasha had gotten the old 'osuwari'. Would have made him look even better in comparison, see." Rin tapped her fan against the palm of her hand.

"Good point. At any rate, the Shikon no Tama is more trouble than it's worth, and if you ever try to get your hands on it, you'll have me, Rin-chan, Rin-chan's parents, and any of the other old allies we can dig up. Believe me, there's a lot of them. Besides, you don't really want to fight Rin-chan's otou-sama."

"Another question." Kurama put in. "Rin-sama, why do you call Kagome-san oba-sama? As far as I can tell, she isn't your aunt." Shippou and Rin looked at each other, held a silent conferral, and gave a slightly edited answer.

"Because Otou-sama adopted her into the pack as his pack sister. That makes her my aunt." Rin explained calmly.

_And we aren't going to go into the fact that just about everyone considered Kagome and InuYasha mates, and just figured that it was only a matter of time until they became mates, and really was Rin's oba-chan…. _Shippou added silently. The tantei just nodded in a sort of dazed, confused way. Shippou snickered.

"At any rate, I met okaa-san back when I was a little kit, around Hikari's age. She adopted me, which kept me from wreaking too much havoc, and when okaa-san was sealed on the other side of the well, some of our friends took care of me. I've been waiting for her ever since. It was remarkably easy to stay in the Ningenkai, especially once the baka there took over." Koenma muttered darkly, as Kurama looked at him with curiosity.

_**Sooo… she's his mother, not his cousin…. That's alright then! I don't need to kill him to make sure he's out of the way!**_

_I imagine Kagome-san would not have taken well to that. _Kurama pointed out dryly.

_**Probably not. But why did she adopt the kit in the first place? What happened to his parents?**_

"Shippou-san, what happened to your birth parents? It isn't normal for kits to need adoptive parents." Shippou's eyes darkened.

"I don't know what happened to my birth mother. My father was murdered by two youkai

called the Thunder Brothers. Okaa-san took me in a little more than a week later." Kurama winced. The entire destruction of a family was a crisis among kitsune. Shippou had been very lucky to be found by someone who would take care of him.

"How did you meet Kagome-san, at any rate?" Shippou grinned again.

"Oh, I tried to steal a huge chunk of the Shikon no Tama from her. InuYasha nearly killed me for it, but okaa-san made him stop because she felt responsible." He paused, contemplating the memory for a moment or two. "Of course, the fact that the Thunder Brothers kidnapped her a couple minutes later, and InuYasha needed my knowledge of the two to get her back didn't hurt my case either….." He laughed at the expressions on most of the tantei's faces. Kurama appeared completely understanding. As a kitsune, he understood seeing the advantages of nasty situations. It made it easier to pull their notorious pranks.

"She adopted you after you tried to steal from her?" Yusuke asked, incredulous.

"That's Kagome-oba-sama for you. More forgiving than anyone else. I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet." Rin said ruefully. "At any rate, why did you need to come in today? I didn't think there was anyone attacking…" Koenma shook his head.

"There isn't anyone, Rin-sama. I wanted the tantei to try the sword to see if it could be used." He explained. Rin nodded in understanding.

"Ahhh. I see. Well, I'd say that the probability that one of your tantei could use the Tetsuaiga is slim… unless one of them is…. Never mind. At any rate, Tetsuaiga is strongly linked to the bloodline of InuTashio. That means that there are probably only…. Two or three people who can use it."

"Why not? If my tantei have youki and meet the qualifications, why shouldn't they be able to wield it?" Koenma asked in a somewhat pouty tone. Rin rolled her eyes.

"The Tetsuaiga was forged from my jii-sama's fang to protect the mortal love of his life, and bind my oji-sama's youkai blood. When he died, it passed to my oji-sama, and was totally useless to him… until he used it to protect the ningen girl he was falling in love with. Tetsuaiga is like the guardian of the ningen women of my family. As such, I'd say that my otou-sama might be able to use it, to protect my okaa-sama, and Shippou might be able to use it, provided he fell in love with a human, because he is part of the pack, and InuYasha-oji-sama was like his foster father after Kagome-oba-sama went home. Then… well, InuYasha-oji-sama's love might have been able to use it, but I doubt it. Anyone else probably couldn't because they aren't part of the pack." She explained, deliberately leaving out the fact that Tetsuaiga had transformed to protect Kagome. Something told her that Kurama at the very least would not like hearing that. Suddenly, an oni darted into the office.

"Koenma-sama! There's an attack in the Southeast portion of the city!" He yelled, and everyone winced.

"Right. Botan, take the boys, and swing around to pick up Kagome-san…" He was interrupted by a low growl from Shippou.

"Leave my okaa-san out of this. I'll go in her place." Rin nodded.

"Me too. You are not dragging Kagome-oba-sama out on a mission today of all days." Koenma sighed.

"Fine. Just don't get yourselves killed." Shippou calmly picked up Tetsuaiga, and grinned.

"Well, who knows? Maybe there'll be a set of circumstances for me to test if I can use it." Rin rolled her eyes.

"Everyone ready then?" Botan asked cheerfully. "Let's go!"

The fight proved harder than they expected. Five middle class youkai were pounding on a portion of the city, and one of them had a talent for causing major catastrophic explosions. It was not long before the tantei were happy for the presence of Shippou's claws and fox fire, and Rin's knife, and surprisingly enough, her fan. Everyone except Shippou had been stunned the first time she slashed it through the air with a cry of "Dance of Blades!", resulting in a series of blades of wind slicing through their opponents. Shippou had grinned.

"Nice. Present from Kagura?" Rin had nodded and they dodged one of those major catastrophic explosions. The tantei were holding up well; they had managed to eliminate three of the five, but the last two were proving difficult, especially when the tantei, Shippou, and Rin were being peppered with explosions. Finally, Yusuke was able to hit the fourth youkai with his reigan, effectively taking him out, and causing a minor rockslide.

"Ow!" Rin yelled, after getting nailed in ankle by a flying rock, giving her a nasty sprain.

She fell, and her fan flew out of her hand. Naturally, the explosion causing youkai decided this would be an excellent time to attack, and began building up an explosion. Rin blanched. "Oh. Shit." She whispered, and Shippou whirled to assess the situation. His eyes widened, and he yelled

"RIN!" Tetsuaiga pulsed at his side.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — —

Que dramatic music Oh dear. Things do seem to be taking a rather nasty turn...

At any rate, the Reikai tantei are aware, in a very awkward, incomplete manner, of just who Kagome is. Rin and Shippou appear to be somewhat sweet on each other, and chaos is about to take over. Such fun!

In other news, I just looked at the counter for reviews for A Long Awaited Meeting. 97. 97! Jaw drops in absolute shock, rubs eyes, blinks a couple times, and looks again to verify. Is stunned to discover that 97 is indeed the correct number of reviews. Resists the urge to faint in order to continue Thank you so much all my wonderful readers! I am thrilled that anyone is reading this at all, and I seem to have people who like it rather a lot! I hug you all!

/

I don't know if this will cause alerts to go out, but if it does...

There is no new information contained in this chapter. It is the first of several re-posts with editing for format, typos, incorrect grammar, and whatnot. That is all.


	12. Inheritance

I don't own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. It would be nice if I did, though. It would most definitely pay for college..... 

--- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ----  --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ----- --- ---- --- ---- --- ----- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ----- --- ----- --- ----

Shippou felt the pulse of Tetsuaiga at his side, and without thinking, he drew it. Instead of a rusty old katana that would probably be good for absolutely nothing, Tetsuaiga appeared in its huge, almost fang-like form, making all the tantei turn and stare. Shippou grinned, and tried to remember what InuYasha had told him about using Kaze no Kizu.

_Smell. Then slice through the place where the two scents meet. _Shippou closed his eyes, and trusted his sense of smell. He found the place where his scent rubbed up against that of the youkai threatening Rin.

_Here goes nothing…._ He thought, and swung Tetsuaiga, hard, at the place where the wind was scarred.

It worked. A blast of youki shot from the blade, knocking the explosion off course, andplowing straight into the youkai. The tantei's jaws dropped, and Rin beamed at Shippou from her position on the ground.

"Thanks Shippou! Ummm…. Can you give me a hand?" Shippou laughed, sheathed

Tetsuaiga, and leapt to the ground next to her. He offered her his back, and scooped up her fan from the place it lay on the among the rubble.

"Get on." Rin laughed, and, careful not jostle her ankle, managed to get onto his back. He passed her the fan, and grinned evilly. "Now, let me think; where have I seen this picture before?" He asked her dryly. Rin giggled.

"Let's see… it couldn't have been just about every bloody day when oba-sama was in the Sengoku Jidai, now could it?" She asked sweetly. Shippou grinned, flashing his fangs at her.

"Of _course_ not! It's not like this is the way InuYasha used to carry Okaa-san _all_ the time!" Throughout the conversation, the Reikai tantei just stared at them in absolute confusion. Well, technically, Kurama was glaring at them.

_**I don't think I like the sound of this InuYasha person. He was **_**much**_** too close to Kagome.**_ Youko muttered darkly. Kurama had to agree. He did _not _like that sort of competition. Then he remembered something Shippou and Rin said earlier.

_Isn't he dead, though? That's what Shippou and Rin were implying…._

_**Yes, but still! It's hard to compete with dead people! **_Youko pouted. Kurama almost smiled. Meanwhile, Shippou walked over to the tantei.

"Right. Well, that takes care of that. Where's Botan?" The tantei blinked, and slowly came back to themselves.

"How did you _do_ that?!?!" Yusuke asked, in awe. Now it was Shippou's turn to look confused.

"Do what?" Rin giggled.

"I think he might be talking about Tetsuaiga transforming, and then that lovely demonstration of Kaze no Kizu." She pointed out wryly, making him blush.

"Oh, that. Right. Uh, well, Tetsuaiga transformed because I met the qualifications, and accepted me as its holder. And the Kaze no Kizu bit, well, I just remembered what InuYasha always said about how to make it work. I think I only managed it because I was so desperate…." He trailed off, then noticed the stunned faces of Kuwabara and Yusuke. "What?" He asked, vaguely peeved, and Rin giggled again.

"Just relax, Shippou-kun. Let's go home, and tell your okaa-san that Tetsuaiga's awake again."

"Wait just a second! What the heck is Kaze no Kizu, and _why _did that stupid sword change?" Kuwabara demanded. Shippou sighed.

"Kaze no Kizu is one of the special attacks of Tetsuaiga, the most basic one." He explained. "And Tetsuaiga transformed because… well…" Rin blushed too. "I'm part of the pack of the last wielder, he was something like my foster father, to be precise, and I was… well, ummm… protecting the ningen girl I love." Shippou was bright scarlet, and Rin was not that far behind him. Kurama started laughing at their obvious discomfort, and Hiei smirked. Kuwabara and Yusuke still looked confused, but they finally let it drop. Shippou was grateful. Suddenly, Botan popped up behind them.

"Hello, everyone! Nice work on the youkai! Koenma was very impressed by Shippou-san and Rin-sama." She caroled. Everyone jumped, startled.

"Don't _do_ that, Botan!" Yusuke yelled, and Botan giggled.

"At any rate, I'm supposed to take everyone home. So, let's go, shall we?" Botan opened a portal to Kagome's shrine, which Shippou and Rin had planned to dart through alone. However, the other tantei also dove through the portal just before it closed. They were surprised at what they found.

Kagome was sitting at the base of the Goshinboku with Hikari in her lap, softly telling her a story about a "baka hanyou" who was trying to fight a young miko, when Shippou came up to her. She looked up to him, and cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out who was hiding behind him.

"Who's behind you, Shippou-kun?" Rin stepped out from behind Shippou, and beamed.

"Oyasumi nasai, Kagome-oba-sama!" She said happily. Kagome's jaw dropped.

"Rin-chan? Is that you?"

"Hai, Oba-sama! We've been waiting for you for a long time, Kagome-oba-sama." Slowly, Kagome got to her feet, and wrapped Rin into a fierce hug. Rin laughed and hugged her back.

"Rin-chan. It's so good to see you again. Shippou-kun said that Sesshoumaru-sama finally adopted you?" At this point, the Reikai tantei were standing by the Goshinboku.

"Ok, Kagome. What the Hell is going on here?" Yusuke snarled, sick and tired of being completely confused. Shippou growled, and turned to Yusuke.

"Let's get something straight: If you bother my okaa-san, _or _try to hurt her, I _will_ blast you with fox fire! So, shut up and leave her alone! Got it? Or do you _really_ want to end up like that youkai we just fought?" Yusuke gulped, but refused to back down.

"No! I'm sick of not knowing what the Hell is going on!" Yusuke yelled. Shippou growled, but stopped when Kagome put her hand on his arm.

"It's alright, Shippou-kun. They have a point. I'm going to guess that you had to tell them something earlier?" Shippou nodded.

"Hai, Okaa-san. I told them… the bare minimum." Kagome nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, then. So, you know I'm the Shikon no Tama no Miko?" The boys nodded. "Do you know what that means?" The boys shook their heads, except for Kurama who shrugged.

"I know a little bit, mostly about the Shikon no Tama itself." Kagome nodded.

"Right. First things first: _this_," she pulled her prayer bead necklace out from under her shirt, to show them the small pink orb hanging from its base. Kuwabara stared at it.

"That thing's _powerful_." he murmured. Kagome smiled slightly.

"Yes, it is. Unfortunately….."

"What's so bad about that?" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Yeah…. You aren't the one who has to keep a bloody shield around the thing _all_ the time so various youkai don't come after you to kill you and your family. _You_ aren't the one who can't stop touching it, because if you do, chances are, it'll become impure _again_ and cause so many problems it isn't even funny! I, unfortunately, am. I _still _can't find a way to get rid of it, or I would." She said bluntly, startling the tantei.

"But doesn't it come in handy from time to time?" Kagome shrugged.

"Not really. The only way to use it would be to wish on it, and considering what I know about the wishes it's granted, it's not worth the problems that would ensue. I'll just keep daydreaming about getting rid of the stupid thing someday. Much safer, see." The tantei blinked, sort of absorbing what she was saying.

"So… the Shikon no Tama is practically worthless?" Kurama asked, vaguely confused. Youko did not seem to agree with that statement. Kagome also shook her head with a sigh.

"Not exactly…. It's more like, if you want to do something _good_ the Shikon no Tama is useless without me." She explained. Shippou nodded.

"Yeah, I've only seen the Shikon no Tama used in a good way _once. _InuYasha had to use the shards to lend power to Tetsuaiga so he could blast us out of a rock oni's gut." Shippou shuddered. "It was _not _pretty." Yusuke looked at him.

"What happened?" Shippou sighed.

"A hanyou's youkai blood is stronger than his human blood. However, it's the human blood that gives them their sanity. When InuYasha used the Shikon shards…. They became polluted and powered his youki so much, he totally lost it. It was horrible." The others stared.

"How did…." Kurama started, then glanced at Kagome, who was looking away, her arms crossed over her chest. Shippou glanced at her, and she nodded slightly.

"Okaa-san. She ran and grabbed InuYasha around the shoulders, which put her in close enough proximity to the shards that they were purified. InuYasha managed to get us out…. Barely." Kurama glanced at Kagome again. Something told him the entire story was not being told.

"Is there anything else we ought to know?" Kurama asked gravely. Shippou shrugged.

"Most of what you need to know is pretty straight forward: Okaa-san is the Shikon no Tama no Miko who defeated Naraku with the help of a group of allies. That would be InuYasha, me, Rin-chan, Sesshoumaru-sama, Jaken-san, Kouga-kun, Ayame-chan, Ginta-kun, Hakaku-kun, and several humans I guarantee you don't know: Miroku the houshii, his, ummm, fiancée, Sango the taijiya, and Kaede the miko. We also had the very, very secret help of Kagura, one of Naraku's detachments, but that's not commonly known. At any rate, we defeated Naraku, got the Shikon no Tama, and Okaa-san got locked in this time when the well sealed on her. Did I leave anything important out?" Shippou asked Rin and Kagome. The latter bit her lip, thinking hard.

"Not really…. You might want to explain why I freaked at the sight of Tetsuaiga….." Shippou grinned.

"Already did. Sort of, anyways. And, Okaa-san? Rin and I have some news for you…." Kagome cocked her head to the side, as Hikari climbed to her favorite position on Kagome's shoulder.

"What is it, Shippou?" Wordlessly, Shippou drew the Tetsuaiga, which transformed.

"I took it with me on the mission that Koenma sent us on, and Rin nearly got killed." He said quietly, blushing profusely, as was Rin. Kagome slowly started to smile.

"So, you finally admitted it. Congratulations to the pair of you." She hugged them both, then whispered "It's about time!" in Rin's ears. The girl's face was flaming by now, but she smiled, and bowed slightly.

"Arigatou, Oba-sama. I'm glad you approve." She turned to Shippou. "You do realize that now we have to do the hard part." Shippou suddenly blanched.

"You mean…." Rin nodded.

"Otou-sama is going to find out eventually, and it would be better if we told him ourselves instead of letting him hear gossip, or something. Besides, if he's seeing Kagome-oba-sama for the first time in centuries, maybe it will be enough distract him from the fact that he _hates _to share……."

--- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ---- --- ----

At this point, one really must feel for Shippou. He DOES have to tell Sesshoumaru.......

And also, does anyone think that maybe I ought to move this up to T?  I mean, I DO have them swearing a bit.....


	13. Author's Note

I know you were all hoping for a new chapter, and that technically, Author's Notes aren't allowed, but I needed to get this up where all the people who read "A Long Awaited Meeting" could find it.

There will not be any updates of "A Long Awaited Meeting" until December.

See, during the month of November, I participate in something called "Nanowrimo". It's an international group of people that try to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Granted, these are really rough, unrevised, first drafts, but still. At any rate, all my writing, and a good chunk of my spare time will be dedicated to Nanowrimo until I finish, or just give up. (that's what ended up happening last year ^^;...) So, you won't hear from me again until December. It's not because I'm dead, or anything, it's merely because I'm doing something else. So please, don't send me messages begging me to write in November. I'll probably end up ignoring them.

If you're interested in participating in Nanowrimo yourself, go to www. nanowrimo. org (without the spaces) and sign up! It's a lot of fun. You can find me under the name jini_chan. If you do sign up, friend me, and drop me a note through who you are! I hope some of you do try it out!

I _am_ sorry that I'm not going to be able to deliver any more updates for a while. I hope it doesn't make you lose interest, or hunt me down with a chainsaw or an axe. I promise I'll update it first thing in December!


	14. Family Reunion

I don't own InuYasha, or Yu Yu Hakusho. I would have a great deal more disposable income if I did.

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---

Shippou gulped as he followed his okaa-san and Rin to his oji-sama's home. They had received special permission from the Reikai to create a family reunion of sorts on Sesshoumaru's territory on the outskirts of the Makai. He began panicking as soon as he realized he was going to be seeing Sesshoumaru _immediately_. Telling Sesshoumaru that he wanted to take his only, well-beloved daughter as his wife and mate was something that he wanted at least three months to prepare for, so that he could compose a carefully reasoned argument and make an involved plan of action that could easily morph into battle plans if Sesshoumaru decided he was not too fond of the idea. Thus it was with a feeling of absolute terror that Shippou went to the Makai with his mother, quietly hoping that the Tetsuaiga would be able to protect him against Sesshoumaru if things got to physical combat. Rin walked next to him, her hand in his, offering Shippou silent comfor, hiding he own undercurrents of nerves at the thought of Shippou talking to her father about marrying her. She, like Shippou did not want to think about her father's reaction to the news that she and Shippou wanted to be together.

— ----- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — --

Kagome's first thoughts upon seeing Sesshoumaru's abode in the Makai was that Sesshoumaru still liked to intimidate. The place was huge, and screamed 'big, powerful taiyoukai lives here. Do not mess with him if you want to live.' Kagome sighed and shook her head. Typical. Even 465 odd years had not taught Sesshoumaru that intimidation did not have to be so, so obvious! The group, which consisted of Kagome, Hikari, Shippou, Rin, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei, approached the gates of the fortress where Sesshoumaru lived, Rin in the lead. As soon as they were close, Rin's back went ramrod straight, and an icy light filled her eyes. Kagome glanced sideways at her and shuddered.

"I can see that Sesshoumaru has been training you in facial expressions." Rin smiled a smirk of pure ice and evil that Kagome was fairly certain she had seen on Sesshoumaru's face, before he had stopped trying to kill InuYasha at every opportunity. Shippou snickered.

"Yeah, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama is _very_ influential. I can do the look of ultimate 'I'm going to kill you now' as well. Of course, I'm not as good as Sesshoumaru, and Rin here…." He grinned at his love, who was glaring icily at him. "Well, Rin is much too happy to hold it for more than half an hour. As such, we should probably get inside so that Rin can smile like she usually does without losing face." Rin glared at him, and murmured.  
"If it wasn't for the fact that we are right in front of the guards, I would _so_ stick my tongue out at you." Shippou grinned at her.

"You know you love me." He said cockily. Rin rolled her eyes.

"God only knows why." She muttered darkly, but the icy look in her eyes warmed considerably as she looked at the kitsune youkai.

Kagome looked smug as she watched Rin and her son together.

"Looks like Sesshoumaru will have to pay up." She murmured. Kurama glanced at her.

"What?" He asked. Kagome smiled sweetly.

"You'll see." she said. Something told Kurama that Kagome was not going to explain herself.

"You, there! What business have you--" A guard started with a snarl when Rin came to stand in front of the group, a look even more icy than before. Very calmly, she took out her fan, and flicked it open.

"What was that?" She asked in the dead emotionless voice in which her father had trained her extensively. The guard blanched, and sweat began pouring down his face.

"Ri-Rin-sama! I was unaware that you had left…" He trailed off as Rin's eyes flashed.

"Open. The. Gate. Guard." She hissed. The guard gulped.

"Ah, yes, of course, Rin-sama! Straight away!" He ran to do as Rin commanded.

Rin successfully maintained her icy composure until the guard opened the gates, and they entered the fortress. Then she cracked, and burst out laughing. Shippou also lost any trace of composure.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Rin choked out around her giggles. Shippou grinned at her.

"Brilliant work, Rin-chan!" Rin beamed at him. Suddenly, a sour voice cut into their reverie.

"Foolish girl! You are making trouble _again! Why_ your noble father puts up with you…" Shippou and Kagome hid smiles as Rin hung her head, and accepted the small green imp's scolding. The Reikai Tantei stared in awe as they watched a little green guy, less than half of Rin's height, tear into her, without meeting her fury. As soon as the imp paused to take a breath, Rin bent down, hugged the imp, and kissed his forehead.

"Hai, Jaken-sama. Gomen nasai." Her eyes filled with tears, and went even wider than usual, and she continued onward, making herself sound like the little girl Sesshoumaru had found during the Sengoku Jidai. "Rin-chan did not mean to cause so much trouble to Jaken-sama and Sesshoumaru-sama…." a tear slid down her cheek, and Jaken suddenly looked frantic. The Reikai Tantei's attention was caught by the fact that Kagome and Shippou were very determinedly not looking at Rin. One of Kagome's hands was pressed firmly over her mouth, and the miko shook with suppressed laughter.

"Rin. Stop these antics." A cold, chilling voice said flatly from the other side of the room. Rin stopped immediately, and looked genuinely contrite.

"Gomen, Otou-sama." Rin said, softly. She looked up and her father, her head hung to the side. The tantei stared in shock as the regal youkai nodded his head slightly. Rin's face lit up, and she pelted towards him, throwing herself into his arms. "Otou-sama! Rin is so glad to see you!" She squealed, sounding absolutely delighted. Yusuke blinked.

"Why is she talking weird?" He asked. Jaken, Kagome, and Shippou looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" Shippou asked, confused.

"I believe that Yusuke is referring to how Rin-sama is speaking in the third person." Kurama clarified.

"Oh. That." Shippou shrugged. "Bad habit that she never fully broke. Most of us don't even notice it anymore."

"How long has she been doing that?" Kurama asked out of curiosity. Shippou's brow furrowed, then he turned to Kagome.

"Okaa-san, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama revived Rin-chan with the tensaiga the same year you unsealed InuYasha, right?" Kagome nodded.

"Yes, she tried to help Sesshoumaru-sama after our second confrontation." Shippou turned back to Kurama.

"Right then. At least 465 years. Possibly longer. She comes by it honestly, though." He jerked his head at Sesshoumaru. The tantei looked confused until Seshoumaru spoke to Kagome.

"This Sesshoumaru is glad to see that you have come to no harm, miko." Shippou's meaning immediately clicked as Kagome sighed and shook her head, smiling.

"465 years, Sesshoumaru-sama, and you still can't say my name. I'm not 'miko', it's Kagome. You know, Ka-go-me. Say it. I know you can." Sesshoumaru smirked at her.

"Kagome. It is good to see you again." Kagome smiled, and reached out to hug him.

"It's good to see you too, Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru?" A new voice made the tantei and Kagome whirl around. A tall young woman with long floods of black hair and amethyst eyes stood at the other end of the room, watching the procedures with more than a little confusion. Shippou grinned, and walked over to ruffle the woman's hair.

"Hey Kagome-chan. How have you been?" The woman smiled.

"I'm fine, Shippou-oji-san. It's good to see you again. Who are these people with you." Kurama glanced at the Kagome next to him, who had her eyes locked on the other woman, almost as though she had seen a ghost. Shippou grinned.

"Well, the boys are the Reikai Tantei. They're here to escort my okaa-san. Okaa-san, this is Kagome. I told you about her, remember?" Kagome stepped forward to look at the older woman, who was now looking at her in the same, stunned manner. Shippou's mother smiled, and spoke quietly.

"You look just like Sango. Except for the eyes. Those are Miroku's." The other Kagome laughed.

"That's what everyone tells me. I'm glad to finally meet my namesake," Her eyes glinted wickedly, "Kagome-oba-san." Kagome grinned.

"The scary thing is that I think _you_ are _my_ namesake, if you go all the way down our family tree. So, I'm my own namesake. How weird is that?" both Kagome's laughed. The tantei just looked confused. Shippou caught sight of their expressions.

"You don't want to know." He said dryly. Rin nodded fervently.

"Unless you can read minds, I wouldn't suggest trying to figure it out." Kurama could tell that Hiei had started to use his jagan to asses the situation.

_**Hey, Shorty, tell us what you figure out! **_ Youko yelled at Hiei.

**I'll think about it.** The hybrid youkai answered flatly. Youko recognized that this was the most he was going to get out of Hiei. Suddenly, information came in through their link. ** It seems that the miko knew this other Kagome's parents, who named her after the miko. The miko is descended from another one of their children, and her name is a traditional family name. Most likely, her name came from this Kagome.** Kurama and Youko mulled this over for a minute.

_So, in a way, Kagome-san is named after…_ herself_?_ Kurama asked for clarification.

**Mm.** Hiei agreed firmly. Kurama's head hurt.

"Time travel does that to you." Shippou murmured next to him. Kurama nearly jumped. He glanced at the other kitsune, who had a look of amusement on his face. "Really. Do you have any idea how disconcerting it is to be the same age physically as your okaa-san?" He shuddered. "It's creepy!" Kurama resisted the urge to laugh. Kagome had apparently heard him. She smiled sweetly.

"Shippou, dear, don't you have something to tell Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked and in a voice so sugary that it promised death and damnation. Shippou gulped, and Rin blanched, and edged forward to take Shippou's hand again. Sesshoumaru watched the proceedings before him with cold eyes, looking from his daughter to his nephew. Kurama blinked. For a moment, he thought he had seen a flicker of worry in Sesshoumaru's eyes, but a second later, Kurama decided he must have been mistaken. Sesshoumaru looked as icy as ever.

"What do you need to tell me, kitsune?" He asked in a flat, deadly voice. Shippou closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"We found tetsuaiga." He told Sesshoumaru. The taiyoukai's eyes widened slightly.

"You found my otou-sama and otouto-san's sword?" He asked sharply.

"Hai. Reikai agents were the thieves, as I suspected, which is why I could not find it. However, the Reikai called Okaa-san and the other tanei in to see if anyone could wield it. It brought up old memories, so Okaa-san came home in tears. I, naturally, forced my way into the Reikai, and demanded to know what Koenma had done. Rin-chan was there already. Then word of an attack came in, and Rin-chan and I decided to help the tantei, so that they wouldn't make Okaa-san fight today. And during the fight…." Shippou took another deep breath, and drew tetsuaiga from its sheath. The blade transformed before everyone's eyes. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows raised.

"Congratulations, kitsune. And who did it transform to protect?" Shippou winced.

"Rin-chan, Sesshoumaru-sama." Sesshoumaru growled low in his throat. Shippou gulped. "I love your daughter, Sesshoumaru-oji-sama." He said very quietly. Sesshoumaru growled again, and turned to Rin.

"How do you feel about this?" He nearly snarled. Rin blushed.

"I-I'm happy that tetsuaiga changed to protect me." She mumbled. Sesshoumaru glared at Shippou, and shot out a clawed hand that was dripping poison to grasp Shippou's throat, and hold him up off the floor.

"If you hurt her," he snarled "This Sesshoumaru will use you to practice with his poison whip. Then this Sesshoumaru will use tensaiga to revive you, and practice with you again. This Sesshoumaru will continue to revive you and use you as a target until I feel that you have met as much pain as you bestowed upon my daughter. Understand, kitsune?" Shippou nodded fervently. Sesshoumaru released him, and Shippou fell to the floor in a heap. Rin rushed to help him up. As she did, Shippou murmured to her.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be…." Rin giggled, but nodded her head in agreement. Sesshoumaru eyed the pair with an icy glare.

"Understand that this Sesshoumaru is _not_ happy about this." He growled at them. Kagome's rang out from where she was speaking with Sesshoumaru's wife. Everyone turned to stare at her. Kurama noticed that the look of fear he had seen earlier flicked across Sesshoumaru's face.

"Don't worry, Shippou-kun. Sesshoumaru-sama isn't mad at _you_ so much as he is at himself. He's remembering a bet he made to a certain miko about 465 years ago, one that you just lost for him." Kagome explained, to her slightly panicked son. Sesshoumaru growled softly. Shippou looked confused.

"What did he bet?" Kagome's smile widened.

"I bet Sesshoumaru-sama that the two of you would end up together one day. Sesshoumaru accepted, and the price he has to pay is pretty steep. I think he was hoping that I had forgotten." Sesshoumaru growled.

"You would be correct, miko." Kagome's eyebrows raised.

"I wouldn't call me that. Remember what happened to InuYasha when he got annoying. It could happen to you too." She warned. "Besides," She smiled sweetly. "It's time for me to collect!"

Sesshoumaru blanched.

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---

Oh, dear... what will Kagome collect? Judging from Sesshoumaru's actions, it'll be something pretty nasty....

And really, did you expect me have Sesshoumaru kill Shippou? That would make Rin sad, and Sesshoumaru would not want her to be sad!

I'm back, as you can tell! I successfully won Nanowrimo (meaning I got all 50,000 words done) at 11:32 pm of November 30, 2008. Never let it be said that I don't procrastinate! I've been writing some other stuff, for the most part, all of which you can see on my deviantart page!


	15. Debts are Collected

I do not own InuYasha. I really wish I did, because then I wouldn't have had to have gone a crochet binge in order to make my friends Christmas presents. I could have afforded to buy things!

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---

Kagome reached into a pocket of her skirt, and pulled out a necklace of dark blue prayer beads, interspersed with white fang-like beads. Shippou and Rin's jaws dropped. Rin turned to her father, eyes wide.

"You didn't, Otou-sama..."

"Silence, Rin." Sesshoumaru snarled. His wife looked hard at the beads in her namesake's hand. She cocked her head to the side.

"Hey, those look like the beads InuYasha-oji-san always wore, the ones Otou-san said were beads of subju..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes widened. She stared at her husband for a long moment, then burst out laughing. Shippou joined her, and Rin began to giggle. Sesshoumaru glowered at them, then at Kagome, who smiled sweetly.

"Are you ready?" She asked, her voice positively angelic. Sesshoumaru glared at her.

"Just do it, Miko." He snarled. Kagome shrugged.

"Alright then." Softy, Kagome began chanting. Behind her, Kuwabara leaned towards Yusuke.

"Do understand this, Urameshi?" He muttered.

" Nope. "

"Hn. Those are beads of subjugation the miko is about to put on Sesshoumaru-sama. " Hiei said, with a smirk. Yusuke glared.

"And what are those?" He demanded.

"Hn. You'll see." Light blazed around the beads in Kagome's hands, and they vanished, only to reappear around Sesshoumaru's neck seconds later. Kagome smiled.

"And now for a word of subjugation…." She murmured. Sesshoumaru snarled, and took a step towards her. Her eyes flashed.

"Sesshoumaru, STAY!" Light flashed again, and Sesshoumaru found himself slammed to the floor and frozen in place. Kagome smiled sweetly, as her namesake, Rin, and Shippou choked with laughter. After a few seconds, Sesshoumaru got back to his feet.

"This Sesshoumaru would appreciate it if you did not use these very often, Miko." Kagome's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Stay, boy." She hissed. Sesshoumaru found himself slammed to the ground once again, with a very ticked off Kagome standing next to him. "My name is _Kagome_. Not 'Miko', Ka-go-me! Kami! You're almost as bad as your brother!" She threw her hands up in disgust. The tantei just looked confused. Yusuke decided to get some answers.

"Alright. Not that watching Sesshoumaru get slammed into the ground isn't amusing, does someone want to explain what the HELL is going on?" Everyone who was not a member of the tantei turned and stared at Yusuke. Kagome pushed her hair back, and sighed.

"For those of you who don't understand our slightly sordid pack history, a long time ago, I made a bet with Sesshoumaru-sama that his precious Rin and my delightful Shippou would end up together. His payment for losing is that I got to put a set of beads of subjugation around his neck. Now every time I say the word 'stay'" Light flashed, and Sesshoumaru was slammed to the ground and frozen, and his pack snickered "In his presence, he gets slammed into the ground. Before now, I had a set around his half brother, InuYasha, that responded to the word 'sit'." Shippou laughed.

"The times I saw you abuse those beads, Okaa-san." Kagome looked away, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Heh. He deserved it most of the time, and you know it." Shippou was silent for a long time, his arms crossed over his chest, looking away from his mother. Kagome smiled slightly. "That doesn't mean that I didn't have a nasty tendency to accidentally on purpose forget not to say sit when I was ticked with him." Shippou grinned.

"That's something of an understatement, Okaa-san. I seem to remember a time that he wound up getting eight sits in a row." Kagome scowled.

"That was because he didn't want me to go home. The baka knew I hated it when he tried to keep me from going home!" Shippou smirked.

"Did it ever occur to you that he _enjoyed_ pissing you off? Well," Shippou paused in contemplation. "Maybe he didn't enjoy getting sat all the time, but I think he liked the reassurance that you cared enough to want to kill him." Kagome burst out laughing, and rolled her eyes.

"Typical InuYasha." Shippou smiled sadly. Kagome's namesake cocked her head to the side.

"InuYasha-oji-san _deliberately_ ticked someone off? I mean, sure, he was rude, and drove us all crazy at times, but he never _tried_ to get anyone mad at him. Well, except Sesshoumaru." She looked at her husband fondly. "But he was a special case. He never tried to do that with anyone else." Shippou smirked.

"Okaa-san was another special case, Kagome-chan. In fact, she was even _more_ special than Sesshoumaru-sama. He only occasionally ticked Sesshoumaru off intentionally. The rest of the time, he just existed."

"Kitsune" Sesshoumaru growled. Shippou grinned at him.

"Sorry sir." The taiyoukai's wife shook her head in stunned amazement.

"Wow. Someone InuYasha-oji-sama enjoyed ticking off more than Sesshoumaru. I'm quite impressed." Shippou grinned.

"Well, sense he started annoying Okaa-san first…."

"Shippou. Kagome. Enough with the discussion of how InuYasha was a total jerk when he wanted to be. We all know that. Or at least, everyone who knew him does. Can we _please_ move on." Kagome snapped, and turned away. Shippou winced as he saw his mother surreptitiously brush away tears that had been forming at the corner of her eyes. He glanced at the tantei, hoping they had not noticed. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei looked unaware, but Kurama had his eyes locked on Shippou's mother. Shippou bristled. It seemed he would have to have a word or two with Kurama once they left.

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ----— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ----

The residents of the Ningenkai left the Makai with a new member in tow: Rin was coming along, after using a brilliant puppy face that she had perfected over the years, along with a promise to ensure that Koenma did not try to pull any rather stupid moves again. Hikari pounced on her mother as soon as she found them, and Kagome took the time to introduce her to new onee-chan. Most of the tantei departed, heading to their own homes. Except one.  
Kurama quietly grabbed Shippou by the arm, and pulled him away from his mother, younger sister, and beloved.

"I want answers." He said flatly. Shippou sighed.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming." He looked at Kurama. "What I said before still stands: You hurt her, and you will die the most painful death Rin, Kagome-chan, Sesshoumaru-sama, and I can come up with." Kurama's lips twitched in a smile.

"I understand that. Now, explain what you and the rest of your pack didn't tell us." Shippou sighed.

"You know that InuYasha who wielded Tetsuaiga before me, right?" Kurama nodded. "You know the trigger for Tetsuaiga is the need to protect the human love of the wielder?" Again Kurama nodded, his eyes narrowed. Shippou could tell he was processing the information and coming to the appropriate conclusion. Shippou nodded in confirmation. "You have it right. I wasn't there the first time Tetsuaiga transformed, but Sesshoumaru-sama was. Ask him about it sometime. It's why he liked to irritate her; he liked knowing that he got under Okaa-san's skin, that she was thinking about him, even if she was only screaming that he was a jerk." Kurama nodded.

"I wondered when you and Rin refused to say the name of the girl who Tetsuaiga protected." He said quietly, then paused. "She loved him as well, didn't she?" Shippou nodded.

"More than anything." Kurama looked away.

_**So, we're going to be competing with a dead guy who she adored. Great. Well, Red, it's time to get to work! **_ Youko said, grim determination ringing in his thoughts. A bitter smile twisted Kurama's face.

_Still giving it a try, Youko?_ He asked dryly.

_**She's still a puzzle.**_ Youko assured him. _**And a very good one at that. I'm not one to give up a treasure because there's a challenge. That only makes the prize more … interesting. **_

_Oh really? And what are you trying to steal this time?_

_** Kagome, of course. **_ Youko said simply. _** She's going to be ours. **_

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ----— ---- — ---- — ---- — ----

Consider this my Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or it's-the-winter-and-everyone-else-is- getting-presents-so-why-not-us? ) present to my readers. I hope you like it!

Also, there will be one more chapter of ALAM. Then it's done. It might be two, depending on how things fall out, but it'll probably be just the one. I hope you all have enjoyed it!


	16. Classroom Trauma

I do not own InuYasha or YuYu Hakusho. I wish I did, but sadly, it was not meant to be. I own a Kirara plushie, though. Does that count?

— ---- — ---- — ----- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ----

The next Monday, Kagome and Shippou went to school like always, with Rin. Surprisingly enough, Rin, who could face down any youkai when armed with her fan and a knife, was so nervous she was shaking slightly. She held tight to Shippou's hand as he and Kagome lead her into the office. Kagome smiled winningly at the secretary who greeted them with a scowl.

"Ohayou gonzaimas, Hiwatari-san! I have a new student for you, I believe the arrangements were made for her yesterday? This is Tashio Rin." Rin smiled weakly up at the formidable secretary who continued to glare as she slammed Rin's schedule down on the counter, and told her, as she had told Shippou months ago

"There. Don't break any of the rules. Don't get lost. Have a good first day." Rin gulped, and nodded, her hand slipping back into Shippou's once she had her schedule.

"She's scary…." She murmured, just loud enough for Shippou and Kagome to hear. Kagome giggled, and Shippou shuddered.

"I know. BELIEVE me, I know." He answered in a very sincere voice, making Rin smile in relief. Kagome stopped them before they entered the main hallway.

"Ok, Rin. I'm going to warn you now, Shippou has something of a… fanclub here at school. A lot of girls will be trying to get his attention. Please, do not do anything to them. Feel free to glare, and if it gets _too _bad, slap them. But don't do anything… extreme." Rin grinned.

"So you're saying no Dance of Blades, right?" She asked mischievously. Kagome grinned back.

"Sorry, no Dance of Blades. Although, I imagine it will be VERY tempting…" Rin giggled as they stepped out into the hallway, where Shippou was immediately pounced upon by one of his rapid fangirls. Kagome was relatively certain this was the one who had been elected president shortly after his arrival

"Ohayou, Higurashi-kun! Daijoubu desuka?" She asked, batting eyelashes that were coated with entirely too much mascara. Shippou grimaced.

"Daijoubu des, Erani-san. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class…" The fangirl pouted at him.

"But Higurashi-kun, I wanted to talk to you!" Rin glanced at Kagome, who was resisting the urge to gag at the fangirl's overstated attempts to get Shippou's attention. A small, slightly evil, smile flitted across her features. She tapped Shippou on the shoulder.

"Ne, Shippou-kun, where's our homeroom class? I can't figure it out… oh, gomen nasai, am I interrupting something?" She asked innocently. Shippou's face held a look of deepest thanks, then a look of mischievous glee, before melting into a normal, slightly affectionate look that he allowed the fangirl to see.

"Not at all, Rin-chan. I was just about finished talking to Erani-san. Oh, right. Rin-chan, this is Erani Misa. Erani-san, this is my fiancée, Tashio Rin." Rin smiled sweetly at her, and bowed politely.

"It's very nice to meet you, Erani-san." She murmured. Misa just stared in horror at Rin.

"Di-did you say she was your… your… _fiancée_, Higurashi-kun?" Shippou smiled.

"Hai!" At this point, Kagome, who was fighting back laughter stepped into the fun.

"Rin-chan, Shippou-kun, we better get headed to homeroom. Let's go." Rin and Shippou nodded their agreement, and followed her away, leaving a stunned and slightly horrified Misa behind them.

The entire day followed this process. It was not long before Rin came to be considered public enemy number one among the girls of their school, and by physical education, there were plans in action to eliminate her. The class was playing tennis at this point in the school year. Rin found herself being overwhelmed by 'off-course' tennis balls, and even the occasional racket that 'slipped out of someone's hand' mid-swing. Fortunately, between Kagome's abilities, and Rin's own skills, which she had previously only put to use in fighting youkai, the two girls were able to fend off most of the projectiles. However, both girls were a bit battered by the time physical education was over. Silently, Kagome decided to tell Shippou that one of them needed to be with Rin at all times inside the school, or they would have an _extremely _irate Sesshoumaru-sama on their hands, demanding to know why they had let a bunch of pathetic ningen kill his beloved daughter, not to mention the fact that Shippou would suddenly find himself without a fiancée.

Meanwhile, in the boys' physical education, the study of basic martial arts gave Shippou plenty of opportunities to explain to the boys of his class that Rin really was not available. By the end of the class, any boy who had even said something as innocuous as "Tashio-san is very pretty, isn't she?" found himself pounded into the ground by Shippou. The boys were much quicker than the girls to understand Shippou's message: Rin was _his_, and any idiot who tried to change that would find himself facing some _very _nasty consequences.

Shippou met up with the girls at the beginning of lunch period, and quickly took in the bruises that decorated the two, especially a particularly nasty one on Rin's left cheek. His eyes flickered red for a moment. Kagome noticed this with a flicker of worry, and glanced at Rin.

"Who did this?" Shippou asked in a low, very angry growl. Rin smiled reassuringly at him.

"Daijoubu desu. I just got in the way of a tennis ball during physical education. No harm done. Let's sit down and eat, Shippou-kun!" Shippou's expression softened at her usual cheeriness, and he allowed himself to be lead to a table. They were immediately swamped by a large group of girls, who promptly tried to shove Kagome and Rin off the benches. Kagome, who was used to this tactic, held her spot fairly well. Rin remained unmovable, despite the girls' best efforts. She made a mental note to thank her otou-sama for all the lessons in how to avoid getting moved during a fight; she was finally putting them to use. Throughout the lunch hour, several of Shippou's male friends came and attempted to aid their friend. A few came and dragged girlfriends who doubled as fanclub members away, as Shippou mouthed 'gomen nasai' to the draggers. Others, like Hojo, forced their way onto the bench, shoving off obsessive girls. All of these were happy to meet Rin, and were very, _very_ careful not to imply _anything_ untoward about her. They were all stunned to see that Shippou was indeed capable of being affectionate towards a girl besides Kagome. As Hojo muttered to Kagome over the course of lunch,

"I know you said that he had someone he liked, but it's different _seeing_ it. Besides, he's turned down half the school. A good number of people were starting to have suspicions that he would be after a boyfriend, not a girlfriend." Kagome giggled in response.

"No, not at all! Shippou and Rin have been like this for a very long time. Besides, he wouldn't be interested in a girl who just threw herself at him like these do. Rin was _much_ more of a challenge!"

By the end of the day, all three of them were tired, and ready to collapse at the shrine. As they trudged along home, Rin turned to Kagome.

"Kagome-oba-sama, PLEASE tell me you have barriers to keep murdering fangirls out of the shrine." She demanded dully. Kagome smiled at her.

"I have separate barriers up to keep out murders and obsessive fangirls. One of the two ought to keep the murdering fangirls out." She assured Rin.

"Good. Once we get home, I am going to crash. That was almost as bad as training with Otou-sama!" Shippou shuddered, remembering a few such training sessions with Sesshoumaru-sama from his own past.

Unlike Shippou and Rin, Kagome did not choose to go take a nap in her room before starting her homework. Instead, she climbed to the lowest branch of the Goshinboku, and let the thoughts she had been holding back all day as she watched her son and future daughter-in-law interact overtake her.

_InuYasha… I miss you so much. I wish you were here to see Shippou and Rin together, with your onii-sama's consent. Goodness knows I wish you were here to see someone besides yourself stuck with beads of subjugation. Watching Sesshoumaru-sama receive the 'stay' command would have made you laugh so hard. _She reached up, and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face. _But you're not here. And I know you wouldn't want me to be sad forever. You'd tell me I was being a baka, and that I ought to get over you, because you were just a stupid hanyou, who wasn't worth crying over. You would be wrong about that; even if you were a hanyou, you _are_ worth crying over. But… you have a point. _She gazed out, over the shrine from her perch, not really noticing anything. _It's been over a year since I last saw you, on the other side of the well, and as much as it hurts to say it… I need to move on. I can't live in the past forever, no matter how much I might want to. I don't think you'd like that. _She closed her eyes_. I love you InuYasha, and a part of me always will, but this is the last time I will cry over you. From now on, I am going to look forward, not backwards. I'm moving on._

"Kagome-san!" Kurama's voice broke into Kagome's reverie, and her eyes snapped open, to take in the Reikai tantei standing with Botan at the base of the Goshinboku. "Can you leave now? We have a job to do, if you would care to join us." Kagome smiled down at him, somehow knowing that he would be a large part of the future she was embracing.

"Hai, Kurama. I'm coming."

— ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ---- — ----

Aaaaand.... that's it! I may get the creative urge to write an epilogue, but I kind of doubt it. It would probably get posted as a separate one-shot, at any rate.

For those of you who would like some clarification on the meaning of my lovely ending between Kagome and Kurama, Kagome has decided, rather sensibly, that she needs to move on. Sorry, Inu fans, but in this story, he's dead. At any rate, once she's made her decision, Kurama asks her if she's ready to go on a mission with the rest of the tantei, and, in particular, himself.

For those of you who like deeper meanings in stories, you can probably discern that Kagome and Kurama are clearly going to end up together because of this. And, as much as it pains me to say it, because I positively LOATHE deeper meanings, you'd probably be right; they do appear to be heading in that direction.

But Kagome doesn't know for certain. I rather like that, because no one can really know the future.

At any rate, I hope you all have enjoyed "A Long Awaited Meeting". I've had fun writing it, and I look forward to hearing from you all again, if I ever come up with a new fan fiction.....

Thanks for all your lovely reviews, favorite stories, story subscriptions, and the like, they have been wonderful! I love hearing that people enjoy my writing!

Until next time, then!

-jellolids


End file.
